Slayers: Faces
by Davner
Summary: Zelgadis and Sylphiel set out to find a cure for Zel's curse, but there's more to this than meets the eye... Author's first attempt at a Slayers fic.
1. Sayonara?! Breaking Up Is Hard To Do!

Hello, everyone. This is my first attempt at a Slayers fic, so   
reviews are important. Thanks. Slayers is the property of Kadokawa   
Shoten and TV Tokyo. I own only the writing. Please review or send   
your C&C to me at doscher009@hotmail.com. Thank you. I hope you   
enjoy this story, because I'm having a good deal of fun writing it.   
^_^  
  
Slayers: Faces Part 1  
Sayonara!? Breaking Up Is Hard to Do!  
  
  
Zelgadis sighed as he watched his three companions scarf down   
their lunch with little regard to the simpler things...like manners.  
  
"MINE!" Lina screamed, stabbing her knife down on a piece   
of chicken that Gourry had just claimed.  
  
"Mmmmnnn!" Gourry replied, his mouth full.  
  
"Please, there's enough for everyone," Sylphiel told them,   
reappearing from the kitchen carrying a tray ladened with slices   
of cooked turkey.  
  
Lina made a dive for the tray, but Zelgadis managed to   
restrain her and keep her from attacking their host here in   
the town of Bes.  
  
"Great! Seconds!" Amelia cried.  
  
"Eighth's, actually," Zelgadis pointed out, trying to keep a   
handle on Lina, who was flailing about like a fish on a hook.  
  
Sylphiel smiled politely and carefully put the tray on the   
table before leaping back as two ravenous sorceresses and one   
swordsman leapt at it.  
  
Zelgadis sighed and shook his head. Sylphiel heard him and   
turned to him, smiling. "You're not eating anything, Mr. Zelgadis.   
Would you like something else? I don't mind cooking more."  
  
"No thank you, Sylphiel. The sooner we leave, the better."  
  
Sylphiel's face fell. "I'm sorry."  
  
"It has nothing to do with you," he said deadpan. "It just   
seems that the longer we stay in one place, the more easily we   
get sidetracked by something."  
  
"Sidetracked from searching for the cure to your curse, is   
that it?"  
  
He nodded. "Everytime we get closer, something pulls us away.   
I honestly think that if I had just set out on my own, I'd already   
be cured."  
  
"Do you really think that, Mr. Zelgadis?" Amelia asked,   
somewhat dejectedly.  
  
Zelgadis blinked and blushed in embarrassment. He had not   
meant for any of his traveling companions to hear that. "Yes, I   
do," he said, recovering somewhat.  
  
"It's not our fault!" Lina replied to his charge. "These   
things just happen!"  
  
"It's not a criticism, just a statement of fact," Zelgadis   
told her. "Between a princess, the ancestor of the swordsman of   
light, and the most dangerous sorceress in the world, this group   
has an enemies list longer than Filia's tail."  
  
"Well, excuse us," Lina said sarcastically. "It hasn't   
exactly been a picnic for us, either. And you have just as many   
enemies as we do, you know."  
  
"Yes, but I've actually killed most of mine," Zelgadis replied   
calmly.  
  
"Look, Zel, we're *trying*, okay?!"  
  
"I told you. It's not a criticism, it's just a fact."  
  
"Well how the hell are we *supposed* to take it?!" Lina   
cried. "We've all been through Hell together!"  
  
"Yes, and the whole time, I've lived in my own private   
hell along with it!" Zelgadis snapped. "How many times have   
we delayed my search so you could have some obscure meal no one's   
ever heard of?! Or chase after some treasure that didn't even   
exist!?"  
  
"Once or twice..." Lina said innocently.  
  
"More times than I can count," Zelgadis told her.  
  
"Well, if you don't want us around, why don't you just   
say so?" Lina asked dangerously.  
  
Zelgadis paused. "Where are we going next?"  
  
"Well..." Lina began. "I'll have you know we're going to   
hop a ship and sail to Krenek."  
  
Zelgadis blinked. "What's in Krenek?"  
  
"You know....important...sorceress stuff."  
  
"Like that restauraunt you told us about, right Lina?!"   
Gourry chimed in. Lina face faulted.  
  
"And that magic dragon's egg that turns anything it touches   
to pure diamond!" Amelia threw in. Lina hit the floor.   
  
She looked up and found Zelgadis staring down at her. "A   
restauraunt?" he asked. "A magic dragon's egg?"  
  
"Yeah...well..." Lina said sheepishly.  
  
Zelgadis sighed. "Go."  
  
"Huh?" Lina asked.  
  
"I said go," he told her. "Call it an experiment. You go to   
Krenek. I'll look for the cure on my own. We'll meet back here in   
three months. How does that sound?"  
  
"Zel," Lina breathed.   
  
"You want to break up the group, Mr. Zelgadis?!" Amelia cried.  
  
He nodded. "We'll see which way is better."  
  
Lina took a breath. "Well, Zel...if that's how you really   
want it...." She looked at him. "We'll see you in three months."  
  
Amelia looked close to tears. "Mr. Zelgadis...." She   
stood up and hopped up onto the table. She threw her cloak   
back and pointed out at the group. "SOMETIMES....SOMETIMES   
FRIENDS MUST PART IN THE PURSUIT OF JUSTICE!!!" She wiped a   
tear away. "AND IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE, WE PART COMPANY NOW!"  
  
Lina laughed. "Hey! This is just a temporary thing! In   
three months, we'll back together again! Just wait!"  
  
"Back together with who?" Gourry asked.  
  
Lina sighed. "Thank you, Gourry."  
  
"What for?"  
  
"Renewing my faith that there are some things that will never   
change."  
  
  
  
Zelgadis woke up with a start. He was sitting in a chair   
near the bed, something that had become a habit for him. It was   
easier to snap awake and get moving from a chair than a bed.   
  
Like now.  
  
He reached out and slowly lifted his sword from the nearby   
table. There was light coming from beneath his door. The sword   
made a slight scratching noise as he pulled it from its sheathe.  
  
This motion stopped immediately when he heard a knock and a   
soft, feminine voice whisper through the door. "Mr. Zelgadis?"  
  
He replaced the sword and stood up, walking to the door and   
unlocking it. "Come in, Sylphiel."  
  
The priestess-sorceress opened the door and stepped in, a   
ball of soft, white light in her hand provided the light he had   
seen.   
  
"It's late," Zelgadis pointed out, a touch of irritation in   
his voice.  
  
"I know, Mr. Zelgadis, but I needed to speak to you, and I   
was unsure if you would leave early this morning or wait."  
  
"It's all right, Sylphiel. If it's important..."  
  
"I think I know where you can find your cure," she said,   
cutting him off.  
  
He looked up at her sharply. "What?"  
  
She cleared off the table and reached into a satchel she had   
brought with her, producing a map. "My father..." she paused for   
a second before continuing, "My father used to tell me stories,   
growing up, about a...a...a kind of magical fairy land where there   
was no magic."  
  
Zelgadis sighed. "Children's stories are of little use   
to me, Sylphiel..."  
  
"Father never told me children's stories!" Sylphiel told   
him. "Even when I was a baby, he used to tell me about the   
wonderful world that was out there. He didn't need fiction to   
entertain me, he had ancient legends and myths....and at the heart   
of every legend is a grain of truth."  
  
Zelgadis considered this for a moment, then nodded, inviting   
her to continue.   
  
"As I grew older, I found out that my father had...embellished   
the story slightly. But it did exist. Supposedly, it's an island   
far to the east, in the Sirian Sea."  
  
"As I recall," Zelgadis ventured, "The area around the   
Sirian Sea was the home to several Elf kingdoms."  
  
"Yes!" Sylphiel said excitedly. "And Elf magic has always   
differed from that of humans! From what I've learned in my   
father's books, somehow, some way, the Elves created a place   
where magic simply doesn't exist."  
  
"Perhaps, but how would this help me?"  
  
"It's not just new spells, it's *all* spells. *No* magic   
exists there. Not even...not even chimeras."  
  
Zelgadis looked at her. "What you are saying," he began   
slowly, "Is that my curse wouldn't exist on this island? That   
it would what? Fade away?"  
  
"It might," she told him.  
  
He looked down at the map before him, staring at it for several   
minutes. Sylphiel watched him, observing his internal debate.   
Finally, he spoke. "Sylphiel, I need to use your map."  
  
"Of course, Mr. Zelgadis."  
  
"Sylphiel...thank you."  
  
She smiled. "You mustn't thank me...Not until we find it."  
  
Zelgadis blinked. "We?"  
  
"Of course," she told him. "It is I who have set you upon   
this course. It's only right that I see it through as well."  
  
"Sylphiel," he began quietly, "I'm not going on some picnic,   
this is my own personal mission. The reason I'm not going with Lina   
and the others is that I could move faster alone."  
  
"I won't slow you down, Mr. Zelgadis," Sylphiel promised him.   
"I want to go."  
  
Zelgadis opened his mouth to tell her no...  
  
"Please?" she asked quietly. "This...this is something I   
have to do."  
  
He looked at her, puzzled. "Why?" he asked skeptically.  
  
She turned away from him. "Don't ask me why. It just is."  
  
Zelgadis took a breath and thought on it. It wasn't as if   
Sylphiel were anything like Lina. He wouldn't have to put up   
with the constant distractions....or the noise. Amelia and Gourry   
weren't with them, so he wouldn't have to put up with the constant   
stupidity or grand pursuits of justice. He might just be able to   
get something done...  
  
And it would be nice to have someone there who could cast   
the Dragon Slave...  
  
"All right," he said. "We'll leave tomorrow. Early.   
Pack only what you can carry. It's best to travel light."  
  
Sylphiel nodded.   
  
The edges of Zelgadis' lips curled up in a half smile. Perhaps   
he was on the right track.  
  
  
  
"MINE! MINE!" Lina cried, stabbing downward with her fork.   
The metal instrument of gluttony was turned by a similar fork in   
Gourry's hand.   
  
"You got the last sausage, Lina!" Gourry warned as the two   
struggled for supremacy. "This one is *mine*!"  
  
"Darkness beyond twil..." Lina began to chant, but was   
stopped when Gourry suddenly jammed a hard boiled egg into her   
mouth. "Mmmmmph!!!!"  
  
Gourry used the moment of distraction to pick up the sausage   
and pop it into his mouth. He swallowed and stuck his tongue out   
at the sorceress.   
  
"BAKA!!!" Lina screamed as she decked him. Gourry hit the   
floor of the inn, dazed.   
  
"Gourry dear!" Sylphiel cried, and ran to his side. Lina   
dusted her hands off.  
  
"Well, that's about it for breakfast," Lina said casually.   
"I guess we're off." She turned to Zelgadis. "Sure you won't   
change your mind?"  
  
Zelgadis only shook his head.  
  
"Well," Lina said, "If you need us, we'll be heading toward   
Giln, it's a port about three days from here."  
  
"We'll keep it in mind."  
  
Amelia blinked. "We?"  
  
Sylphiel helped Gourry to his feet. "I have decided to   
accompany Mr. Zelgadis."  
  
Lina blinked at this. This was a new twist. She grinned   
and couldn't help taking a shot at Zelgadis. "Why Zelgadis!" she   
cried coquettishly. "It all makes sense now, you dirty little   
chimera, you!"  
  
"Excuse me?" Zelgadis asked, his eyes narrowing.  
  
Lina clasped her hands in front of her and giggled girlishly.   
"If you wanted to be alone with Sylphiel...curled up in front of a   
warm campfire....all alone, you should've just said something!"  
  
"MR. ZELGADIS!" Amelia cried. "IS THIS TRUE!!??"  
  
"Of course it's not true!" both he and Sylphiel cried at   
once, Zelgadis in anger, Sylphiel in shocked embarrassment.  
  
Gourry blinked in puzzlement. "So you and Zelgadis are a   
thing?" he asked Sylphiel.  
  
Sylphiel waved her hands in front of her frantically. "No!   
No, Gourry dear! Lina's just playing a joke!"  
  
"Awww! I think it's cute!" Lina said in a syrupy sweet,   
girly voice.   
  
"It is most certainly not cute!" Amelia and Sylphiel   
cried at the same time.  
  
"Awwwww!" Lina squealed.  
  
"Enough!" Zelgadis announced. "If you must know, Sylphiel   
has information that might lead to a cure for my curse. That's   
all."  
  
"If you say so, Zel," Lina said with a wink. Zelgadis   
only sighed.  
  
Lina regarded him for a moment, then stuck out her hand.   
Zelgadis blinked at this.  
  
"I'm proud to have you as a friend," she told him seriously.   
"Good luck."  
  
"You too," he said, taking her hand and shaking it. "I hope   
we live to be old friends."  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Mr. Zelgadis!" Amelia wept, embracing him, "Please be   
careful!"  
  
"Gourry dear," Sylphiel whispered, taking the blonde   
swordsman's hand. "Please take care."  
  
"You too, Sylphiel!" Gourry said with a smile. "I hope you   
and Zel have a wonderful life together!"  
  
"But...Gourry dear..."  
  
"I think you two make a wonderful couple..."  
  
"Gourry dear...."  
  
"But if you don't mind my saying," he whispered, "He's a   
little gruff for you..."  
  
"GOURRY DEAR!!"  
  
"Yes, Sylphiel?"  
  
She sighed. "Nothing, Gourry dear..."  
  
  
  
Zelgadis held his cloak tighter around himself. His   
chimera body might be great against things like swords, but   
against the cold, it did very little. He looked out at the   
valley below him. It wasn't snowing, not yet, but in the next   
few weeks, they could expect it. Winter was coming.  
  
They had been walking for two days. Zelgadis had never been   
this way before, so he found himself relying more and more on   
Sylphiel. Unfortunately, she had confessed to him not long ago   
that the terrain ceased being familiar hours ago.  
  
Even so, they had a map and plenty of supplies.  
  
"Mr. Zelgadis! Lunch is ready!" he heard her call from   
their campsite.  
  
He turned and walked back to where Sylphiel was waiting.   
He couldn't fathom it. It was cold and miserable out, and yet   
she hadn't stopped smiling since this journey began. Not that   
he was complaining. She was certainly a more pleasant traveling   
companion than Lina. He watched her poke at a fish, still in   
the pan. She was still smiling.  
  
It wasn't him. He had no illusions about that. Sylphiel   
had made her feelings for Gourry nauseatingly obvious...well...to   
everyone but *him*, anyway. Not to mention that other one,   
teency, tiny detail.  
  
He had a hideous face made of stone...  
  
"Here you go," she said, handing him the frying pan and a   
fork. "Careful, it's hot."  
  
Zelgadis took the pan and began to eat. He watched her as   
she began to eat her own meal. "So what can we expect farther on?"   
he asked her.  
  
"I'm really not sure," she told him. "My father never   
really went into the details of the journey to the island, just   
the legend surrounding it."  
  
"I see." He took another bite. Silence. "May I ask you   
a question?" he asked her.  
  
She looked up at him and nodded.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Why are you coming with me?"  
  
"I told you. I want to help you."  
  
He shook his head. "There's more to it than that. I can   
see it."  
  
She was quiet for several minutes. Then...  
  
"I was lonely."  
  
He blinked. He hadn't expected that kind of answer. His   
suspiscious nature had caused him to suspect something else, an   
ulterior motive like money or treasure...  
  
A *Lina* motive.  
  
"You don't understand," she told him quietly. "Before   
two years ago, I had never been alone. Not once in all my life.   
Then...Then Rezo killed Father, and...." She broke off and   
looked down at the ground. "For awhile, it was fine. Gourry   
dear and you and Lina were there. Then you left. For the first   
time in my life, I was totally...fully...and thouroughly....  
alone."  
  
Zelgadis waited quietly for her to go on.  
  
"I hated it," she whispered. "I was forced to leave my village   
for the first time in my life... and it was so lonely out there."   
She paused again. "After the last time we split up...I swore that   
if I had the opportunity again, I would join your group and stay   
with it. I just couldn't stand it anymore."  
  
"Then why aren't you with Lina, Gourry, and Amelia?" he   
asked.  
  
She smiled. "Because, I have to go where I am needed.   
With them, I'd be in the way. Here I can help a good man find   
something's he's sought after for years. As much as I want to   
be with Gourry dear, I realize that he..." she broke off.  
  
Zelgadis said nothing.   
  
"How is the fish?" she asked, breaking the silence.  
  
"It's good," he told her, allowing her to change the subject.   
"I wish I had thought to bring some salt."  
  
As if on cue, a hand reached over his shoulder and sprinkled   
some salt on his fish.   
  
"Thank you," Zelgadis said without thinking. His eyes widened.   
He turned suddenly and growled. "You....*again*?!"  
  
A familiar figure in black robes and holding a staff grinned   
at him. "Well! This is certainly a pleasant surprise!"  
  
"Xellos," Zelgadis sighed in resignation. "Can't you go   
bother Lina or Gourry....or *anyone* but me!?"  
  
Sylphiel just watched the exchange quizzically.  
  
"Bother?" Xellos asked innocently. "I have no intention   
of being a bother. I just happened to be walking along this road   
when I was stopped by the most delicious aroma!" He turned to   
Sylphiel. "Can I assume that this was your doing, Ms. Sylphiel?"  
  
"Well," Sylphiel began, blushing slightly. "Thank you,   
Mr. Xellos. There's plenty if you would..."  
  
"Cut the crap, Xellos!" Zelgadis growled, interrupting   
them. "With you there's no such thing as coincidence. What   
do you want?"  
  
Xellos leaned forward and whispered conspiritorially. "Very   
well...I'll tell you....just this once..."   
  
Zelgadis and Sylphiel strained to listen.  
  
Xellos smiled and spread his arms wide. "I want some of   
Ms. Sylphiel's delicious pan fried fish!"  
  
Zelgadis hit the ground. Sylphiel sweatdropped.   
  
The chimera climbed to his feet and squared off with the   
Mazoku again. "I really should've seen that one coming..."  
  
"Well, one should!" Xellos chastised him. "Ms. Sylphiel's   
cooking is nearly legendary...if one listens to Gourry..."  
  
Sylphiel smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Xellos. Would you   
care for..."  
  
"Why are you following us?!" Zelgadis broke in again.  
  
Xellos wagged a finger at him. "It's terribly rude to   
interrupt."  
  
Zelgadis placed the blade of his sword at Xellos' throat.   
"Sue me," he growled.  
  
Xellos sighed. "If it makes you feel more secure, this   
really is just a coincidental encounter."  
  
"I don't believe you."  
  
"Okay, if it makes you feel better, I'm stalking you and   
plan to kill you as you sleep. Is that any better?"  
  
Zelgadis growled and lowered his sword. "I give up."  
  
"An excellent move, Mr. Zelgadis!" Xellos commended him.   
Xellos sat down next to their fire and rested his staff on his   
lap. He took a pan of fish from Sylphiel and smiled gratefully.  
  
"Fine," Zelgadis growled. "Eat your fish and take off.   
I want absolutely nothing to do with you."  
  
Xellos chewed and smiled. "Very well. I do have something   
*very* important to ask before I go."  
  
"Fine," Zelgadis replied irritably.  
  
"Please! Be serious!" Xellos told him. "This is   
important."  
  
"And that is?"  
  
Xellos smiled and held the empty pan out. "Can I have   
seconds?"  
  
Zelgadis' sword was in his hands and raised over his head   
in a second!  
  
"Mr. Zelgadis!" Sylphiel cried. "There's no harm in   
sharing some of our food with him."  
  
"I don't mind sharing food," Zelgadis told her. "It's   
his presence I can't stand."  
  
She tried a reassuring smile. "Surely he's not *that*   
bad."  
  
Zelgadis frowned and sat back down. "You'll learn."  
  
"Mr. Xellos," Sylphiel began. "By any chance, do you know   
about the territory east of us?"  
  
"Oh yes! I take this road often!"  
  
"Do you? Then could you tell us what's down it?" She smiled   
and held out a hot pan of fish.  
  
Xellos smiled. "Well, with an offer of such a delightful   
meal, how can one refuse? If you continue down this road, you'll   
come to the Wall of Wellis."  
  
"A wall?" Zelgadis asked.  
  
Xellos nodded as he chewed. "It was built by priestesses   
from Femille to protect this area from monsters that live to the   
east. It's millenia old."  
  
"Passable?" the chimera asked.  
  
Xellos nodded. "Of course." He stood up. "Well,   
Ms. Sylphiel, thank you for such a lovely meal." He turned to   
Zelgadis. "Mr. Zelgadis, a pleasure as always."  
  
"Go away," Zelgadis said deadpan.  
  
"Yes, of course," Xellos said. He started walking down the   
road, the same direction they were taking.  
  
Zelgadis sighed.  
  
"Mr. Zelgadis, that was quite rude of you," Sylphiel   
chastised him.  
  
"You don't know him the way I do, Sylphiel," he told her.   
"He has his own agenda, he always does."  
  
  
  
Xellos, it seemed, was telling the truth, and it wasn't more   
than three or four hours before they came upon what appeared to   
be a long, solid brick wall that stretched out forever in both   
directions. It didn't look too high, only twenty feet or so.   
Vines and fungus grew over it, discoloring the bricks from their   
original red to a sickly greenish brown. The road led right   
into it without stopping.  
  
"Odd," Sylphiel commented. "Shouldn't there be a tunnel   
or a gate?"  
  
"This wall was built by the priestesses of Femille," Zelgadis   
reminded her. "I think they'd use magic." He ran his fingers along   
the wall and paused. "Well, we don't have to worry too much.   
Levitation!" The chimera began to float up towards the top of the   
wall. once he had cleared it, he began to float forward....  
  
Only to stop dead in the air. He tried to will himself over   
the wall, but no matter how hard he tried, his Levitation spell   
wouldn't move him in that direction. He realized what was   
happening and floated down again. Sylphiel was waiting for him.  
  
"The wall's enchanted," he told her. "It's not only   
designed to block physical attacks, but magical ones as well."  
  
"Mr. Zelgadis, I..."  
  
"It's just Zelgadis," he told her gruffly.  
  
"I'm sorry?"  
  
"Zelgadis. No 'Mister.'"  
  
"Zelgadis," she began again, "I found something." He followed   
her and watched as she moved a browning shrub aside. A small   
platform about the size of a tea saucer stood on the end of a stone   
column about waist high. "I found another one on the other side   
of the road. It looks like a magical lock system."  
  
Zelgadis thought for a moment. "Meaning that two sorcerers   
working at these locks could open a door through the wall."  
  
"Exactly. I've seen locks similar to this before."  
  
Zelgadis smiled slightly. "Then let's give it a try." He   
walked across the road and found the platform's mate. He placed   
his hand on it and began to concentrate, allowing the sum of his   
powers to flow through it. Across the road, Sylphiel was doing   
likewise. He could see the energy flow from her hand into the   
lock, however...  
  
There was no energy flowing from him into his lock.  
  
He concentrated harder, focused on only the lock.  
  
The wall didn't react in the slightest.  
  
He shut his eyes and continued to try. What was wrong with   
this damn thing?  
  
His eyes snapped open when he heard Sylphiel moan. He looked   
across the road and saw her collapse.  
  
"Sylphiel!" He dashed across the road to her and knelt beside   
her. "Are you okay?"  
  
She looked up at him weakly and smiled. "It didn't work."  
  
"No," he said with a shake of his head. "I don't understand   
it."  
  
Sylphiel thought for a moment, then closed her eyes and   
groaned.  
  
"What?! Are you all right?"  
  
"I just realized why it didn't work," she told him. "It   
was made by the priestesses of Femille."  
  
"So?"  
  
"So, you're a man, Zelgadis," she pointed out. "Have you ever   
heard of anything the Femille make that works for a man?"  
  
"Actually," Zelgadis said with a blush, "The Femille aren't...  
er...*all* women..."  
  
"Well," Sylphiel continued, rising to her feet, "It seems that   
whoever created this wall was. It takes two sorcerESSES to open."  
  
Zelgadis growled. "To be stopped....by sex discrimination..."  
  
"We need Ms. Lina," she pointed out. "Or Amelia."  
  
"Damn," he swore. "After coming all this way...We have to   
go back."  
  
"It's only a small delay," Sylphiel said, putting some   
cheer into her voice for his benefit. "In a few days, we'll be   
back."  
  
He refused to be cheered by this. He now had to go   
crawling back to Lina and beg for help...  
  
He *knew* she was going to milk it too...  
  
"I wonder what happened to Mr. Xellos?"   
  
"Huh?" he asked.  
  
"Mr. Xellos," Sylphiel repeated. "He was coming this way too,   
but...where is he? He couldn't have gotten over the wall."  
  
"Actually," he told her, "If there's anyone who could figure a   
way over this wall, it's Xellos."  
  
Dejectedly, the two started back to town.  
  
  
  
Sitting on the other side, his back against the wall, his   
staff across his lap, Xellos tossed a stone up and down to amuse   
himself as he listened to Zelgadis and Sylphiel make their decision   
to return to town.   
  
He smiled.   
  
"Well," he said to himself, "This is fortunate. More pieces   
always make for a more interesting game."  
  
He settled back and began to wait for them to return.  
  
  
  
Zelgadis grit his teeth in frustration as he walked. He   
damned his luck again. It was bad enough to be delayed like this,   
it was compounded by the grin he *knew* Lina would give him when he   
caught up with her and explained the situation. He could just   
picture it.  
  
("Wow! That was fast! Only gone a few days before you   
realized you needed me! Of *course* I'll help, Zel! No problem!   
Waiter! Dinner orders for ten! And charge it to the guy with the   
blue hair!")  
  
He growled low in his throat. "We'll keep on for a few more   
hours, then make camp," he said. "We can't delay any more than..."   
He stopped and turned when he realized that Sylphiel wasn't walking   
beside him.   
  
He blinked in surprise when he noticed that she was rather   
far back, leaning on a staff as she walked.  
  
"Sylphiel?"  
  
She stopped and looked up at him. "I'm all right, Mis...   
Zelgadis," she corrected. "Just a little tired..." She   
punctuated this by collapsing.  
  
"Sylphiel!" When he got to her, she was asleep. "Must have   
been exhausted by the lock," he muttered. He gently picked her up   
and carried her until he found a place for a campsite. He set up   
camp and started a fire, letting her sleep next to it.  
  
"Mmmm," she muttered sleepily, "Gourry dear..." She turned   
fitfully under her cloak and continued to murmur.  
  
He watched her do this for several minutes as he ate a travel   
biscuit. Finally, he laid down on his own bed roll and closed his   
eyes. The last words he muttered before sleep took him were,  
  
"Gourry really is an idiot..."  
  
  
  
Giln was a port city, but not a very large one. Even so,   
it was the only place you could catch a ship to Krenek in this   
part of the world.  
  
And the last one had left only three hours before they   
had arrived...  
  
"We *missed* them..." Sylphiel muttered as she sat down in   
the restauraunt near the docks. "By only a few hours."  
  
Zelgadis growled in irritation. "The next ship for Krenek   
leaves in a week, then it's another *two* weeks of traveling, then   
who knows how long to search for them once we get there...Dammit!"   
He pounded his fist into the table, leaving a rather sizable   
impression.  
  
Sylphiel sighed. "What else can we do?"  
  
Zelgadis thought for a moment. "Actually, it's not that   
much of a problem. We could always *hire* a sorceress..."  
  
"Zelgadis," Sylphiel began, "First of all, the sorceress   
has to be fairly powerful, and secondly, where are we going to   
find a sorceress as powerful as Lina Inverse who will work for   
what little money we have?"  
  
It was at this moment that a chilling sound entered the   
restauraunt from the door...  
  
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOHOHOHOHO!!!!!"  
  
Every head in the bar turned to the door.   
  
"What the hell is that?" Zelgadis asked. Sylphiel saw what   
had made the noise and turned slightly, blushing at the rather   
skimpy outfit the source was wearing.  
  
"OOOOOHOHOHOHO!!!" The laughing trailed off. "Did someone   
mention the name of my greatest rival?" she called out.  
  
The patrons looked to one another.  
  
"Um...I don't think so, Miss," Sylphiel offered helpfully.  
  
The woman, the source of the horrible noise approached   
their table and planted the palms of her hands on it, facing them.   
Her long, black hair matched the cloak and the skimpy outfit she   
wore. Her hawk-like features suggested an aggressive, yet   
cunning nature.   
  
And her breasts were frigg'n huge.  
  
"I believe you did, child," the woman told Sylphiel, her   
face barely inches from her own. "I happened to be passing by   
that window there when I heard someone mention my great, long-time   
rival...." She stood up and posed theatrically. "LINA INVERSE!!!"  
  
"Hmmm...She reminds me of someone," Zelgadis remarked.  
  
"Er...Yes..." Sylphiel tried again. "I suppose we did, if   
she's your great rival...Um...Do you know Miss Lina?"  
  
"Know her?!" the woman cried in astonishment. "Do you have   
any idea who you're speaking to, child?! I am the great Naga the   
Serpent! Rival and Eternal Adversary slash Comrade of Lina   
Inverse!"  
  
"Funny," Zelgadis remarked, "She's never mentioned you."  
  
Naga face-faulted.   
  
"Not once," Sylphiel threw in. "Well...not to me, anyway..."  
  
Naga hit the ground. She climbed to her feet and planted   
her hands on the table again. "I find it hard to believe that   
anyone who knows Lina Inverse would not have heard of me! Our   
exploits are legendary!"  
  
"Please, Ms. Nagi, calm down..." Sylphiel tried.  
  
"'NAGA!' It's 'Naga!'" Naga cried. She sighed and sat down.   
"Not once?" she asked again.  
  
Zelgadis and Sylphiel shook their heads.  
  
Naga began to shake. "I see....I see her plan!" She stood   
up and posed again. "SHE INTENDS TO DEFEAT ME BY OMISSION! TO   
HAVE MY GREAT NAME FADE FROM MEMORY!! WELL IT WON'T WORK, LINA   
INVERSE! MY NAME AND REPUTATION WILL RISE LIKE THE MIGHTY PHOENIX   
AND BURY YOU!!! OOOOOHOHOHOHOHO!!!"  
  
As she continued to laugh, Zelgadis scratched his head.   
"Damn, now it's actually bothering me...Who does she remind   
me of?"  
  
Sylphiel, however, wasn't listening. "May I assume,   
Miss Naga, that you are a sorceress?"  
  
Naga stopped laughing and grinned smugly. "You may.   
Only Lina Inverse has defeated me..."  
  
"Then you're a *powerful* sorceress," Zelgadis   
commented with a grin, catching onto where Sylphiel was   
going with this.  
  
"That's right!" Naga said, her arms over her chest. Her   
breasts jiggled slightly.  
  
"Then perhaps we could help each other," Sylphiel suggested.   
"We're looking for a sorceress who can help us open the Wall of   
Wellis. If you could help us, we'd be sure to tell everyone that   
it was the great Naga the Snake..."  
  
"Serpent! Naga the Serpent!"  
  
"Right...That it was the great Naga who opened the wall...  
and not Miss Lina..."  
  
"And...the payment for my services?" Naga asked smugly.  
  
Sylphiel leaned over to Zelgadis. "How much do we have?"  
  
"Two hundred," he whispered.  
  
"Twenty gold pieces," Sylphiel told her.  
  
"Done! Deal! SUCKER!" Naga cried, quickly shaking   
Sylphiel's hand. "OOOOHOHOHOHO!!!"  
  
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Zelgadis asked   
himself. Sylphiel only smiled.  
  
  
  
Naga tossed the potato from one hand to the other until it   
got cool enough to eat, then began eating with gusto. Sylphiel   
blinked at this and commented.  
  
"Shouldn't we wait for Zelgadis to get back before eating?"  
  
Naga shrugged. "If you want to wait, child, go right ahead,   
but I'm hungry." She took another bite of her hot potato.  
  
Sylphiel raised her potato, stuck firmly to the end of a   
stick, and took a tentative bite. Not wanting to waste anymore   
time, the trio had left Giln right after the deal was made.   
Sylphiel was finding their new traveling companion fascinating,   
especially the stories she told about her exploits back when Lina   
was her sidekick...  
  
"So, what happened after you defeated the dragon?"   
Sylphiel asked.  
  
"Well," Naga told her, munching on her potato, "The king and   
his daughter came to an agreement about her allowance, and they   
paid us. I gave Lina her twenty percent cut, and that was the   
end of it."  
  
Sylphiel nodded. She was learning more about Lina than she   
had ever known. "I wonder what happened to Zelgadis," she commented.   
"He should've been back with the water by now."  
  
Naga smiled. "How long have you two been together?"  
  
"Only for a few days," Sylphiel told her, not seeing the   
grin on Naga's face.  
  
"Oh..." Naga said smugly.  
  
"Well, well, well," a scratchy voice oozed from the tree   
line. A man in a brown cloak, holding a sword, appeared.   
"You ladies traveling alone?" he asked with a grin.  
  
Naga continued to eat, ignoring him.  
  
"Actually," Sylphiel began, "We're waiting for a friend."  
  
"Then perhaps I should wait with you," he said, still grinning.   
"Two girls, alone in the woods, might make a rather appealing target   
to all sorts of unsavory sorts, eh?"  
  
Sylphiel's heart plunged into her stomach as she realized this   
was *not* a nice man.  
  
"Perhaps you ladies should let me hold onto your valuables   
for you," he chuckled, raising his sword....  
  
Naga took a bite of potato and said something. "Frzzz Brrrgo."  
  
"Huh?" the bandit asked.  
  
Naga swallowed and pointed at him. "I said, 'Freeeeze...BRID!"   
  
A blue light shot from her finger and hit the bandit. Before   
he could scream, he was encased in ice, the look on his face frozen   
as a statue of horror.  
  
Naga took another bite while Sylphiel just blinked in shock.   
When Zelgadis returned a few minutes later, he eyed the block of   
ice quizzically.  
  
"What happened here?" he asked.  
  
Naga shrugged. "Bandit. No big deal."  
  
"Oh." Zelgadis nonchalantly pushed the statue over, then   
kicked it down a hill. They heard a splash as it hit the river.  
  
  
  
Naga placed her hand on the platform and grinned as energy from   
her hand flowed into it. On the other side of the road, Sylphiel   
closed her eyes and concentrated on her own platform. Zelgadis   
stood in front of the wall and drew his sword, just in case.  
  
With a dull, crunching noise, a section of the wall began to   
move to one side, revealing a short, dark tunnel. On the other   
end of this tunnel....  
  
"Why hello there!" Xellos said with a friendly smile and a   
wave.  
  
Zelgadis stared at him in angry shock. "How...the hell....  
did you get there?"  
  
"Who? Me?" Xellos asked. "I took the entrance over   
there." He pointed to an area farther down the wall. "The   
priestesses of Femille made a doorway over there after the main   
monster threat had passed. Didn't you know?"  
  
Zelgadis grit his teeth.  
  
"OOOOHOHOHOHO!" Naga laughed. "Nothing better than a hard   
three seconds' work!" She held her hand out to Sylphiel, who   
sighed and handed her a bag of gold coins.  
  
"Don't worry yourself, Miss Sylphiel," Xellos told her as   
Naga turned to leave. "Once we find the island, you'll get that   
money back plus thousands more."  
  
Naga stopped dead in her tracks.   
  
"Thousands?" Sylphiel asked.  
  
"Thousands?" Zelgadis remarked quizzically.  
  
"Thousands!?" Naga breathed. She turned quickly.  
  
"I suppose asking you how you know about where we're going   
would be a waste of time," Zelgadis commented bitterly, sheathing   
his sword.  
  
"Time is always important, and shouldn't be wasted,"   
Xellos agreed with a nod.  
  
"Excuse me," Naga said, stepping up to Xellos, "But what did   
you mean by...'thousands?'"  
  
Xellos suddenly adopted an expression of sheepishness   
"Actually...." he whispered. "That's a secret."  
  
Naga grabbed him by the front of his robes, but Zelgadis   
stopped her. "Don't bother."  
  
As Naga was trying to rough Xellos up, Sylphiel suddenly   
realized another part of what he had said. "Mr. Xellos, does   
this mean you'll be traveling with us?"  
  
"Why I would love to!" Xellos told her as if accepting a   
grand invitation to a royal ball.  
  
Zelgadis sighed. "Here we go again," he muttered.  
  
"Well, are we going to stay here all day, or are we going   
to get this quest underway?!" Naga asked, walking towards the   
tunnel.  
  
"Miss Naga?" Sylphiel asked.  
  
"Well, you *did* pay me, so I suppose it would be rude to back   
out now. OOOOOHOHOHOHOHO!!!"  
  
Sylphiel smiled and turned to Zelgadis. He was grinding his   
teeth. She continued to smile at him until his expression softened.   
  
"Okay," he said. He showed a slight smile of his own.   
"Let's go."  
  
With that, he walked through the tunnel and into a part of   
the world he had never seen before. Sylphiel followed quickly   
after him. Naga practically ran, laughing that insane laugh, after   
them both.   
  
Xellos smiled and started to follow, but stopped. He turned   
quickly and examined the forest around him, searching the trees   
for something. The expression on his face was not the friendly   
smile he had been showing, but one of irritation, annoyance...  
  
And just a slight twinge of fear.  
  
After a moment, he turned and walked into the tunnel.  
  
  
  
Crouched on a branch in an oak tree not far away, a pair of   
violet eyes watched Xellos walk through the tunnel. She smiled   
and hopped down to the ground. She tossed her head and threw her   
light purple hair back behind her.  
  
"Ah, Xellos," she whispered. "My old playmate. This is   
going to be fun."  
  
The owner of these words quickly rushed forward and   
through the tunnel right before it closed with an ominous clack.  
  
  
To Be Continued....  
  
  



	2. Doppelganger! The Amazing Slight of Sor...

Disclaimer: Slayers is the property of Kadokawa Shoten. I own only   
the writing. Special thanks go out to Cavis for coming up with more   
jokes in this chapter than I could have alone. Thanks, Cav. More   
thanks go out to WillZ, STRIKESTWICE, Little Masa Ouki, J,and Meg chan.   
Please review or send your comments to doscher009@hotmail.com.   
Thanks a lot.  
  
Now, without further ado...  
  
Slayers: Faces Part 2.  
Doppelganger!  
The Amazing Slight of Sorceress Trick!  
  
  
  
  
"SYLPHIEL!!!!"  
  
Thirteen year old Sylphiel, novice at the local shrine,   
quickly grabbed another handful of scrolls and tried to keep them   
from falling from her arms in her haste to escape the inferno   
around her.   
  
She had to save them! Thousands of years of knowledge was   
going up in flames before her eyes! She had to save it! She tried   
to grab hold of another scroll, but lost hold of the others and   
dropped them. Her father was not far away, making his way toward   
her to drag her forcefully from the burning shrine if he had to.   
  
Sylphiel knelt down on the floor and began to pick up the   
parchments again. Some of them had caught fire and were beginning   
to burn. She slapped at them with the palm of her hand. She looked   
up and saw her father coming toward her. He jumped back as one of   
the burning rafters collapsed and landed in front of him in flames.  
  
"Sylphiel! Get out! Hurry!"  
  
(Just a few more! Just a few more!) she kept repeating in   
her head. She finally had a hold of most of the scrolls and   
struggled to her feet. She started to run for the door.  
  
"SYLPHIEL! LOOK OUT!"  
  
She heard a sickening crunch and looked up to see a burning   
rafter falling towards her...  
  
  
  
Sylphiel gasped as she woke up, sitting bolt upright and   
gasping for breath. Her hands went to her face as if searching for   
something. When she didn't find whatever she was looking for, she   
sighed in relief.  
  
"Unpleasant dream?" someone asked from her right. Turning,   
she saw Xellos there, sitting on a boulder not far away.  
  
"Yes," she said simply. She pulled her knees to her chest and   
took an unsteady breath.  
  
"Dreams are funny things," he told her. "Never before and   
never again will something that isn't even real have such power over   
people."  
  
Sylphiel looked over to the campfire. Naga was sleeping,   
splayed out all over her bedroll. Zelgadis was...  
  
Zelgadis' bedroll was empty.  
  
"Ah, yes," Xellos said. "He said there was something he had   
to do and left a little while ago."  
  
"Do you know where?"  
  
"Down that path," Xellos said, pointing.   
  
She got up and donned her cape.   
  
"You know, if the entire campsite is leaving, then there's no   
point in my standing watch," Xellos pointed out.  
  
"I'm sure Miss Naga would appreciate your efforts," Sylphiel   
pointed out.  
  
"Something makes me doubt that," he told her with a smug smile.  
  
Sylphiel left the trickster priest to watch the campsite alone   
and took the path he had pointed out. She walked for about five   
minutes before finding the object of her search.  
  
Zelgadis was sitting on top of a boulder, looking out over the   
forested valley below them. It was easy to make out his sillouhette   
in the moonlight.  
  
"Zelgadis?" she called out softly.  
  
He turned and looked down at her. "What's wrong?" he asked.  
  
"Nothing, I was just wondering where you had disappeared to,"   
she told him.  
  
He turned back to the valley. "I don't sleep very well with   
*him* around."  
  
Sylphiel walked closer to the boulder and hugged her cape   
tighter around herself. It was cold out, and she was once again   
reminded that winter was coming.   
  
"Why do you dislike him so much?" she asked seriously.  
  
"He's a Mazoku," he told her simply.  
  
"So?" she asked. "You're a chimera."  
  
"I don't mean it like that," he growled. "I mean that he   
doesn't care one bit about what happens to us as long as he gets what   
he wants. He's using us for something, Sylphiel, and when he gets   
whatever it is he's searching for, he won't need us anymore. After   
that, he's as good as gone, no matter what kind of pinch we might   
be in."  
  
"I find that hard to believe," she told him curtly. "He   
seems like a good person, whatever his motives."  
  
He chuckled under his breath. "The only thing he cares   
about is himself."  
  
"And you?" she asked. "What do you care about?"  
  
He looked down at her and blinked. "What do you mean?"  
  
"You're looking for a cure to your curse, aren't you?" she   
asked. "What will you do once your goal is met?"  
  
"I...I don't know," he said honestly.   
  
"Perhaps Xellos does have his own motive," she told him quietly,   
"But if he does, it's a motive for the Mazoku, for his people.   
Depending on how you look at it, his motivation could be less   
selfish than yours."  
  
She was shocked as Zelgadis landed right in front of her, a   
scowl on his face. She backed away a step.  
  
"How...dare you?" he asked quietly, just above a whisper.   
"I've had to live with this form for *years*!" he hissed. "I can't   
tell you the number of times I've had to put finding my cure on   
hold for one reason or another. Perhaps being around Lina, Gourry,   
and Amelia has warped my perspective. Part of the reason I left   
them was so I *could* be selfish! Just long enough to find what   
I'm looking for! Maybe my motives aren't good and noble, but don't   
you *ever* equate *me* with *him* ever again!"  
  
She looked away from him in embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she   
whispered, then started back the way she came.  
  
Zelgadis was surprised by this. He almost called her back, to   
apologize, but before he could, she was out of sight. He was used   
to Lina. She would always take a stand and fight back, regardless   
of whether she was right or wrong, so usually Zelgadis has to fight   
her harder and faster. Old habits died hard, it seemed.   
  
"Dammit," he muttered. He rested against the boulder. "Why   
can't this be easy just once," he asked.   
  
  
  
"Oh, Mister Xellos," Naga began flirtatiously, walking up next   
to him and lightly brushing up against him. "I couldn't help but   
notice the other day that you said Sylphiel could get back the money   
she paid me...plus thousands more..." She stepped in front of him   
and smiled. "How?"   
  
Xellos stopped and smiled. Zelgadis and Sylphiel continued   
past them. "Now, now, Miss Naga..." He waved a finger at her. "I   
told you, it's a secret."   
  
"Oh," Naga replied with a pout. She placed her finger on his   
chest and made little circles with it. "You can tell me."   
  
Zelgadis just shook his head at this spectacle and turned back   
to his own mission. Sylphiel was walking next to him with her head   
turned slightly away from him. (She's still mad, I guess.) He sighed   
mentally and decided he had to apologize. After all, Sylphiel was   
trying to help him, and he *had* been rather harsh with her last   
night. "Syphiel," he began, "About last night. I'm.......sorry," he   
said finally. He didn't apologize often. It was a very different   
feeling.  
  
Sylphiel sighed. "No, Mister Zelgadis. I'm sorry. I..."   
  
"I told you. It's just Zelgadis," he interrupted. "And you   
have no reason to be sorry. I was the one who snapped at you."   
  
"Yes, but I should've been more sympathetic to your   
situation," she told him.   
  
She was interrupted for a moment as Naga, behind them, cried   
out, "Well why not?!"  
  
"Because," Xellos told her, "It's not something for your ears."   
  
"As I was saying," she went on, "I should've been more   
sympathetic. I know better than to make light of something like this."  
  
"What do you mean?" Zelgadis asked, unsure of where Sylphiel   
was going with this.   
  
"Zelgadis, I..."   
  
Before she could finish, Naga had reached her limit.   
"FIREBALL!!!"   
  
Zelgadis and Sylphiel were thrown forward by the explosion,   
hitting the gravel road hard as fiery debris flew over them. Without   
thinking, Zelgadis threw himself on Sylphiel, shielding her from   
the flames with his body. He felt Sylphiel tense up beneath him. As   
the last of the debris hit the ground around them, he opened his   
eyes and saw her staring up at him. "Th..Thank you, Mister Zelgadis,"   
she said haltingly.   
  
Zelgadis blushed a little and quickly got to his feet. "Are   
you all right?" he asked as he helped the shrine maiden to her feet.   
Before she could answer one way or the other, he was turning towards   
Naga and Xellos.   
  
Naga stood over a large, burnt out crater almost ten meters   
across, clapping the dust off her hands. "Oh, where could the smiling   
Xellos be?!" she asked humorously. She wagged a finger at the crater.   
"That's a secret! OOOOOHOHOHO!!!"  
  
She felt someone tap her shoulder and turned to find Xellos   
there. She gasped in shock. "Now, now," he whispered to her so that   
only she could hear him. "Is that any way for a princess of Seyruun   
to behave?"   
  
Naga turned dead white. "How...how did..." she whispered   
fearfully.   
  
"We all do have our little secrets, don't we?" he asked with   
a smile. "They're no one's business but ours. Don't you agree?" Naga   
gulped and nodded fearfully. Xellos' smile widened. "Then we have   
an understanding."   
  
"Are you all right back there?" Sylphiel called out.   
  
"Perfectly fine, Miss Sylphiel," Xellos called out. "Miss   
Naga was just demonstrating some of her magic for me."   
  
Zelgadis shook his head. "He seems to inspire that kind of   
reaction from sorceresses."   
  
  
  
Not far up the road, six bandits were staring down at their   
employer as she gave them their assignments.   
  
"Simple as pie," she told them. "Just look like you're   
roughing me up, and when they get here, run away. You don't need to   
know any more than that."   
  
"And what about our payment?" the bandit leader asked.   
  
The employer smiled and waved her hand in front of his eyes.   
"This one's on the house."   
  
"This one's on the house," he repeated groggily.  
  
The employer squealed in delight and hugged him. "Oh, thank   
you! You're so kind-hearted!"   
  
"Yes...kind hearted," he repeated in a daze.   
  
"Okay, let's get ready," the employer told them.  
  
"Yes...ready..."   
  
  
  
"I never knew this country was so lovely," Sylphiel commented as   
they continued onward.   
  
"Every land seems to have its own brand of appearance," Zelgadis   
told her.   
  
"Well, I su..." She broke off as she heard a shrill scream from   
ahead of them.   
  
"AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!"   
  
They paused for a second. "Come on!" Sylphiel cried, running   
ahead of them. Zelgadis followed a moment later.   
  
Naga stood there for a moment, then noticed Xellos smiling at   
her. "Wait for me!" she cried, following after them.   
  
Xellos stood there and put a finger to his lips. "What could   
this be?"   
  
  
  
Sylphiel, Zelgadis, and Naga cleared a hill and looked down to   
see six bandits standing over a young girl, injured and looking up   
at them fearfully. "FIRE..." Zelgadis began, gathering energy into   
his hands.   
  
Sylphiel grabbed his arm and stopped him. "NO! You'll hit the   
girl!"   
  
"FREEEEEEEEEEZE...ARROW!" Naga shouted as she let loose an ice   
arrow at the bandits. The Serpent's aim was as good as ever, and the   
shaft of ice struck two of the bandits dead on, freezing them to the   
spot. The remaining four turned to them, brandishing clubs and   
swords. They started towards them. This time, Zelgadis was ready   
and now that the bandits were running towards them, unburdened by   
having to think of the safety of their victim.   
  
"DILL BRAND!"   
  
The ground beneath two of the bandits exploded right under   
their feet. They cried out fearfully as dust, debris, and smoke   
covered them.   
  
The last two were smarter than their predecessors and began   
to run... Right back towards the girl. Sylphiel gasped when she saw   
this. "LEVITATION!" She began to float into the air and towards   
the girl, right over the heads of the bandits. She landed between   
them and the girl, barring their way. "FLARE ARROW!" she cried.   
  
A three inch fire dart floated from her hands and struck one   
of the bandits on the chest, where it went out. They were so shocked   
at this, they stopped and blinked. Sylphiel only sighed. "Still need   
more practice," she said to herself.   
  
"DILL BRAND!" she heard Naga cry out. The ground beneath the   
bandits exploded, throwing them into the sky. They ended up landing,   
burnt and unconscious, sixty feet away.   
  
Sylphiel sighed in relief and turned to the girl. She was   
sitting on her knees, staring at them in fear. She appeared no older   
than twelve years old. She had light purple hair worn straight down   
her back, almost in the same style as Sylphiel's, and wore a simple   
dress, white with tiny, purple bunny designs on it.   
  
"It's okay," Sylphiel said softly, kneeling down next to her.   
"Are you okay?" The girl sniffled and began to cry. "Oh! It's okay,   
little girl!" Sylphiel cried. She reached out and hugged her.   
  
"It was...It was...so...*sniffle*...scary!" the girl cried.   
  
"Shhh...It's okay."  
  
Naga, meanwhile was rooting through the bandits' bodies,   
relieving them of their gold and valuables. She found a shiny gold   
clasp with a ruby in it and grinned.   
  
Zelgadis walked up to Sylphiel and girl and knelt next to them.   
"Are you all right?" he asked to neither one in particular.   
  
The girl saw him and squeaked. "A monster!"  
  
"No, he's not a monster," Sylphiel told her quietly. "This   
is my friend, Zelgadis."  
  
"Monster," Zelgadis commented with a snort.  
  
The girl resumed crying into Sylphiel's cloak. "Oneechan!   
I was so scared!"  
  
"It's okay," Sylphiel repeated, holding the young girl as   
she cried. "What's your name."  
  
*Sniffle* "Achi..."  
  
"Where are your parents, Achi?" Zelgadis asked.  
  
"They...they..." she sniffled. "There was a fire, and they...  
they..." She began to cry again.  
  
"How horrible!" Sylphiel cried and hugged her tighter. "You   
poor thing!"  
  
Behind them, they could hear Naga crying, "LUCKY!" as she   
rooted through the bodies of the six bandits.  
  
"What should we do, Zelgadis?" Sylphiel asked.  
  
"Well," he said after some thought, "We can't bring her with   
us. It would be too dangerous. We'll take her to the nearest town.   
I'm sure the temple there will take her in."  
  
Sylphiel looked a little saddened by this, but nodded.  
  
Zelgadis turned as he heard footsteps approaching. "Well,   
there you are. Enjoy the show?" he asked with disdain.  
  
"It was a wonderful demonstration, actually," Xellos told him.   
He saw the girl and froze where he stood.  
  
The girl looked up at him and grinned before burying her face   
in Sylphiel's cloak again.  
  
"And..er...Who is your friend?" Xellos asked.  
  
Zelgadis blinked. He had never heard Xellos so off-step before.   
"She was attacked by bandits. We're taking her to the next town."  
  
"I...I see..." He stared at the girl almost fearfully.  
  
"Well, we should be going if we're going to make it to a town   
before nightfall. Unless, that is, you'd rather camp out again   
instead of staying at an inn."  
  
Naga walked up, six new purses hanging from her belt and a   
jewled clasp on her cloak. "I'm ready when you are."  
  
"Come on, Little Achi," Sylphiel said, picking the girl up and   
carrying her. "Let's go."   
  
Achi smiled over Sylphiel's shoulder at Xellos and winked.  
  
Xellos scowled.   
  
  
  
Hours passed uneventfully for the group as they walked. Naga   
yawned loudly, and her stomach grumbled. "Hey, how about a break?"   
she called out.  
  
Sylphiel turned to Zelgadis. "I think that would be a good idea.   
Achi looks tired."  
  
"All right," Zelgadis relented. "We'll stop for lunch."  
  
"How does that sound, Achi?" Sylphiel asked the young girl   
who was holding her hand as she walked. "Would you like me to make   
you something?"  
  
"Thank you, Oneechan," Achi said with a slight smile.  
  
They found a clearing near a river not far away and started a   
fire. A grove of apple trees grew nearby. Sylphiel made use of the   
meager supplies they had and some fish Naga and Zelgadis caught to   
make their meal, and true to form, her cooking outclassed anything   
any of the others could make.  
  
Achi watched each of them as they rested. Her eyes tracked   
over to Naga, who was admiring some of the loot she had found earlier.   
Achi went ahead and did a shallow scan of her mind. She had to be   
careful. No matter how skilled she was, she knew sorceresses could   
sense deep or prolonged scans. She smiled. Naga the Serpent's   
motivations for being here were obvious just from empathic scans she   
was conducting. She was a mercenary. The end.   
  
She turned towards Zelgadis and scowled. Whatever spell that   
had turned him into a chimera had another affect. It made it   
impossible for any of her mental magic to work. His mind was closed   
to her.  
  
Sylphiel, on the other hand...  
  
The shrine maiden was young and inexperienced. Achi went a   
little deeper into her mind, searching for clues. She knew what   
they were after, but she wasn't sure how they knew where to find it.   
That's why her master had sent her and not one of the others. Her   
abilities made her the ideal choice.  
  
Sylphiel continued to cook, oblivious to the fact that the   
little girl was probing her mind, her thoughts, and her feelings,   
searching through it like an archive.  
  
(Hmmm...) Achi thought as an image of a tall, handsome,   
blonde man with a sword appeared in her mind. (Cute,) she thought.   
(But irrelevant.) She continued on, searching for anything   
connected to the elves' island, Zarak Tor.  
  
For some reason, images of fire kept leaping to the fore. Achi   
pushed those aside. She backed off a bit as she saw Sylphiel tense.   
After a moment, though, the shrine maiden went back to cooking.   
  
More fire, sadness. This girl had a lot of baggage. Yet it   
was all connected to Zarak Tor. She was just about to move deeper   
when she felt a dark curtain fall over the shrine maiden's mind.  
  
"Hello there!"  
  
Achi blinked suddenly and looked up at Xellos' smiling face.   
"Hello," she said looking away haughtily.  
  
"May I ask what you're doing with Miss Sylphiel's thoughts?"  
  
"You may not," she whispered arrogantly.   
  
The Mazoku smiled. "Well, it's all right now. I doubt even   
you can break through the curtain I put up. Even with your singular   
talents."  
  
Achi hissed under her breath. "Still holding onto the title   
of Eternal Pain in the Ass, I see," she whispered.  
  
"And you're still sticking your mind where it doesn't belong,"   
he whispered back with just a touch of menace. "By the way," he   
asked, "How is the Wind Dragon King?"  
  
"What makes you think *he* sent me?" Achi asked.  
  
"Because, Zarak Tor was *his* foul-up," Xellos reminded her   
with a taunt.   
  
Achi bristled. "Word of advice, *Mazoku*," she hissed. "We   
know why you're here. If you get in my way, you'll be sorry."  
  
"Achi? Xellos? What are you two talking about?" Sylphiel   
asked from the fireside.  
  
Xellos stood up and turned. "I was just inquiring about   
Achi's home and people, that's all."  
  
"It's...it's so sad," Achi whimpered. "They're all..." She   
sniffled and began to cry again.  
  
"Oh, it'll be all right, Little Achi!" Sylphiel cried and   
went to her, hugging her. "It'll be okay."  
  
Xellos watched this and arched an eyebrow. (Same old Achi,)   
he thought.   
  
"Here," Sylphiel said with a smile, reaching into her pouch.   
She handed the girl a piece of candy. "There you go." Achi munched   
on the candy and smiled sadly. Sylphiel stood up and faced Xellos.   
"Mister Xellos, if you have a minute." She led the Mazoku to one   
side. "Mister Xellos, I must ask that you not remind her of her   
family right now. She's been through a terrible ordeal. You   
understand, don't you?"  
  
"Er...of course," he said.  
  
Content that Xellos saw her point, Sylphiel picked up a pan of   
her latest culinary creation and walked over to where Zelgadis and   
Naga were sitting.  
  
"Not even *once*?" Naga asked him.  
  
Zelgadis sighed. "No," he said, exasperated. "Lina has   
*never* mentioned you."  
  
Naga growled and sniffed.  
  
"I brought you lunch," Sylphiel told them, sitting down   
between them. Naga grabbed the pan and began devouring the meal.   
Sylphiel watched in amazement. "The more things change," she   
whispered, "The more they stay the same." She shrugged it off and   
turned to Zelgadis. "Zelgadis, I have a favor I would like to ask   
of you."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"I am, by training, a white mage. However, we are entering   
into areas where I will need to fight, and I was hoping you could   
help me."  
  
Zelgadis thought on this. "I specialize in Shamanistic magic.   
I could teach you one or two things. You already know the Dragon   
Slave, and that's hard to master, so it shouldn't be too difficult   
for you to learn a few Shamanistic spells."  
  
"Thank you, Zelgadis."  
  
He stood up and faced her. "Well?"  
  
"You want to start now?" she asked.  
  
He nodded. She stood up. "The backbone of Shamanistic magic   
is the astral plane," he told her. "The attack spells do damage   
to an enemy's astral form, not the physical form. Do you   
understand?" She nodded. "Good. Before you can use astral attacks,   
you have to be able to see what you're attacking. Every life form   
has an astral form as well as a physical form."  
  
She nodded in understanding.  
  
"Turn around."  
  
She obeyed and waited for him to continue. She felt cold   
fingers touch her temples from behind. "What are you doing?" she   
asked.  
  
"You can't just decide to see the astral plane," he explained.   
"The first time, someone has to help you."  
  
"Oh," she said uncertainly.  
  
"That tree there," he said quietly. "See it?" She nodded.   
"Now, look *into* it. As if you can see through it. And concentrate   
your powers toward that task."  
  
Sylphiel stared at the tree, focusing her powers and   
concentration there. She could feel Zelgadis standing behind her,   
doing the same thing, guiding her. She blinked as a blue haze began   
to appear around the tree.  
  
"Do you see that?" he asked.   
  
She turned slightly and saw the blue haze around Naga as well   
as around Zelgadis' fingers. She nodded.  
  
"That's what you would attack with a Shamanistic spell like   
the Ra Tilt," he told her. "Without that blue haze, life can't   
exist. When one goes, so does the other."  
  
"Ra Tilt?" she asked.  
  
"The most powerful spell in Shamanistic magic. Think of the   
Dragon Slave, only instead of destroying physical things, it destroys   
the astral form."  
  
"I..see."  
  
"You're wasting your time!"  
  
Sylphiel's concentration broke at Naga's outburst. She turned   
and saw Naga striding toward her. "A real sorceress doesn't need   
such overkill. Think, child. A woman, by her very nature, makes   
use of men. Sorceresses...such as myself...use this concept as   
well. Observe." She pointed at a rock outcropping. "VU VRAIMER!"   
A bolt of lightning leapt from her fingers and struck the rock.   
There was a deep rumble, and suddenly, something walked *out of*   
the rock face!  
  
It was a golem nearly ten meters high and in the shape of a   
half human, half horse centaur. It even wore a helmet on its head.   
It roared up at the sky.  
  
Naga posed coquettishly and addressed it. "Oh, you big,   
strong golem," she said, "That apple tree is being so mean! Would   
you be a good golem and crush it for me?"  
  
Without another word, the golem lumbered towards the offending   
tree and grabbed hold of it, pulling it out of the ground roots and   
all. It smashed it against the ground, the collapsed on top of it,   
reverting back to rocks and dirt.  
  
Naga dusted her hands off and turned. "Impressed yet?"  
  
Sylphiel only nodded.  
  
"Golems are powerful, but difficult to control," Zelgadis   
noted. "Just ask Martina."  
  
"Only for an *amateur*!" Naga sniffed.  
  
"Only for anyone," Zelgadis replied calmly. "I've seen golems   
go out of control before. Usually, the damage is extensive, and   
unlike the Ra Tilt, you don't dare use it in a city or town."  
  
Sylphiel went back to the fire as the debate between the two   
mages continued. She saw Achi staring up at her. "Is something   
wrong, Achi?"  
  
"No, Oneechan," Achi told her simply. (Dammit, I need to   
break Xellos' curtain or I'm never going to find out what's going on,)   
she thought. She looked into her vast experience with mental magic   
and searched for a solution. Mental curtains, she knew, were like   
tossing a blanket over a sleeping bear. If the bear woke up or   
turned in his sleep....  
  
Achi smiled.  
  
"I think he likes you," she told Sylphiel conspiritorially,   
using her powers to observe the curtain at the same time.  
  
Sylphiel blinked and turned to her. "What do you mean?"  
  
Achi's smile widened. "Mister Zelgadis. I think he likes   
you....you know...Like that."  
  
Sylphiel blushed a little. "What...what makes you think that?"   
The curtain was undulating as Sylphiel's mental distress and surprise   
began to increase.   
  
"He just seems very...you know...protective of you." She   
smiled. Sylphiel looked over at where Zelgadis and Naga were still   
arguing the merits of their magic fields. "I bet he'd like to kiss   
you," Achi told her. Sylphiel gasped.  
  
The curtain fell.  
  
(Score!) Achi cried, mentally. She went in and resumed her   
search....  
  
She felt someone place their hand on her shoulder. She looked   
up. Xellos stood there. "Ah, Achi chan! Why don't you come with me,   
and we'll explore a little."  
  
"I don't want to explore," she growled.   
  
"Of course you do," Xellos told her, stepping between her   
and Sylphiel. "I found a waterfall nearby. Let me show it to you."  
  
"I..."  
  
"It's okay, Achi," Sylphiel told her. "You go with Xellos.   
Have fun. Be back soon. We have to keep moving."  
  
The curtain was back up.  
  
(SHIT!)  
  
She sighed. "Yes, Oneechan." She got up and started after   
Xellos. Xellos led her down a small path not far from camp.  
  
"I would've thought better of a servant of the Wind Dragon King,"   
Xellos told her. Achi growled and began searching the ground. "Then   
again, Achi, subtlety was never your strong..."  
  
*THA-WHACK!*  
  
Xellos cried out and rubbed the back of his head. A fist sized   
rock fell and hit the ground near him. Achi stood not far away, her   
hands on her hips.   
  
"How's that for subtle, Xellos?!" She cried.  
  
Xellos growled.   
  
"Is this why you brought me out here?" she asked. "You wanna   
have it out?! Fine!" She adopted a combat pose, her magical energy   
began flowing around her.  
  
Xellos raised his staff, his own energy amassing to himself.   
"It's not nice to play with people's emotions, Achi chan," he said   
with more good humor than he actually felt. "Especially with this   
group. Trust me, they take it personally."  
  
"Hmmph!" she sniffed. Her combat aura disappeared.  
  
Xellos' eyes narrowed.  
  
"Well?" she asked. "Go ahead. Blast me," she told him. "But   
just remember this, you, yourself, don't have the power over mental   
magic to get what you want out of them. You have to do it the old   
fashioned way and follow them, and if you show back up at that camp,   
and I'm not with you, how likely is it do you think they'll let you   
tag along?"  
  
Xellos paused.  
  
"It's obvious the chimera doesn't trust you, and 'Oneechan'   
seems to think I'm the cutest thing since Piko Piko Lina Chan. Face   
it, you're stuck."  
  
Xellos growled. She was right. Until he figured out how it   
is that Sylphiel knew the way to Zarak Tor, he couldn't alienate them.  
  
Achi picked up another rock. "So there!" She stuck out her   
tongue and let the rock fly. Xellos barely managed to block it with   
his staff.  
  
"Achi! Xellos!" they heard Sylphiel shout from the camp site.   
"We're leaving now!"  
  
"Coming, Oneechan!" Achi shouted back. She threw a glare at   
Xellos and ran back to the camp.  
  
Xellos sighed. "Now I know how Lina feels..."  
  
  
  
The sign on the wall at the outskirts of the city identified   
it as the city of Inverse. Aside from finding this coincidence odd,   
no one thought much about it. It wasn't until they saw what was in   
the city that they began to wonder...  
  
"'Lina Inverse says pick up your litter,'" Sylphiel read from   
a life size cardboard cut out of Lina with a speech bubble over her   
head. The cutout had a fairly decent image of Lina winking and   
flashing the victory sign.  
  
"'Lina Inverse invites you to join the winter solstice   
festivities this weekend,'" Zelgadis read from a poster featuring   
another image of Lina.  
  
Naga was looking fearfully from one poster, cut-out, or   
billboard of Lina to another. "MY GOD! SHE'S EVERYWHERE!"  
  
Xellos put a finger to his lips in thought. "I wonder if she's   
getting royalties..."  
  
"Oneechan, who's this flat-chested girl?"  
  
"Now, now, Achi," Sylphiel corrected her. "She's not   
flat-chested. This just happens to be a two-dimensional picture."  
  
"No, she had it right the first time," Naga told her.  
  
Zelgadis unfolded the map Sylphiel had given him and studied   
it. "It appears that this is the last town to the Sirian Sea. The   
good news is that we can take a ship up the river straight to it."  
  
"Yay!" Achi shouted her support. "A boat ride!"  
  
Sylphiel and Zelgadis shared a look. The shrine maiden knelt   
down and placed her hands on Achi's shoulders. "Achi...you're   
going to stay here. It's too dangerous to come with us."  
  
Achi turned on the waterworks and began to sniffle.   
"But...Oneechan..."  
  
"It's for the best, Achi chan," Xellos told her with a smile.  
  
Achi grit her teeth and growled slightly.  
  
"Why don't the rest of you find a ship for us?" Sylphiel asked.   
"I'll take Achi to the local shrine and make arrangements for her to   
stay there."  
  
Zelgadis nodded. "Good idea. We'll meet at that inn across   
the street in a couple of hours."  
  
"I'll come with you, Miss Sylphiel," Xellos told her. "As a   
priest, I may be of some use as a go between."  
  
(SCREW YOU, XELLOS!)  
  
The strength of the mental send nearly made him flinch. He   
looked down and saw Achi glaring at him in hatred. He smiled.  
  
"I think that would be a splendid, idea," Sylphiel agreed.   
"Come along, Achi chan," she said, taking Achi's hand. Achi relented   
and allowed the shrine maiden to lead her towards the nearest shrine.   
She'd figure a way out of this one.  
  
She guaranteed it.  
  
  
  
"Sorry, can't help you."  
  
"Well why not?!" Naga asked the ship captain. This was the   
third one they've tried, and all of them had given them the same   
answer.   
  
"Look," the captain told them, "If it was up to me, I'd take   
you. I can always use the money. But the mayor says that none our   
ships are allowed to go that far down the river. The Sirian Sea is   
dangerous. It's got that eerie fog all over it. We've lost ships   
before. So the mayor says no. If you want a ship, you have to go   
to him."  
  
Naga grit her teeth. "DIIIIIIILLLLLLLLL....."  
  
Zelgadis clapped a hand over her mouth before she could finish   
the spell. "Where can we find the mayor of this town?"  
  
The captain pointed. "Back that way, about three blocks.   
The building with the statue of Lina Inverse in front of it."  
  
"Yes...of course," Zelgadis said. He turned and started   
walking away. Naga followed him.  
  
"What do you suppose is with this town's fascination with   
Lina Inverse?" she asked.  
  
Zelgadis shrugged. "It's always surprised me that she's not   
*more* famous. Shabranigdo, Rezo, Phibrizzo...She's taken on *gods*   
and won."  
  
Naga seemed surprised to hear those names. "I had no idea that   
Lina had made herself so...busy."  
  
"Not by choice, I assure you," he told her. "Come on, this   
way."  
  
  
  
Achi did a quick scan and found that the curtain Xellos had   
put around Sylphiel's mind was still in place. The shrine maiden   
had a hold of her hand and led her up the steps into the Inverse   
Shrine, Xellos not far behind.  
  
An aging, bearded man met them inside, dressed in the regalia   
of a white priest. "Good day to you," he greeted them. "How may I   
be of service?"  
  
Sylphiel smiled and gestured to Achi. "Father, we found this   
little girl on the road not far from here. She says that her parents   
have been lost to a fire. I was hoping that you might find a place   
for her in your shrine."  
  
The priest looked over Achi and smiled. "Of course. Lost   
children are always welcome here."  
  
Achi scolwed, then smiled as an idea occurred to her. She   
looked up at the priest and mouthed the words, "We can always use   
help in the mines."  
  
"We can always use help in the mines," the priest echoed out   
loud.  
  
Sylphiel blinked in shock. "Excuse me?"  
  
"The coal mines nearby," Achi mouthed.  
  
"The coal mines nearby," the priest told her. Achi mouthed   
a few more words. "They're wonderful for crawling into those tight,   
confined spaces in the mine shafts."  
  
Sylphiel's mouth dropped open in horror. "FATHER!"  
  
Achi sniffled and looked up at Sylphiel. "Oneechan, I don't   
want to work in the mines."  
  
Behind them, Xellos grit his teeth. He couldn't erect another   
curtain around the priest without dropping the one around Sylphiel.   
He was stuck.  
  
"Surely you're joking!" Sylphiel told the priest.  
  
Achi turned her gaze back to the priest and mouthed another   
sentence.  
  
"Well," the priest said, unknowingly echoing Achi, "She's   
very pretty." Achi continued speaking silently. "Perhaps in a few   
years she'll earn money for this shrine at the brothel down the   
street..."  
  
*CRACK!*  
  
The priest blinked in honest surprise as his face reddened   
from Sylphiel's slap.  
  
Sylphiel looked at him in insulted horror. "How....DARE YOU!?"   
She turned and pulled Achi with her. "Come along, Achi! We're   
leaving!"  
  
"Bye, Mister Priest," Achi said with a smile. Xellos only   
sighed to himself and followed.  
  
Sylphiel had never felt so angry in all her life. Not even   
when she fought Phibrizzo had she ever felt such rage towards   
someone. "I have *never* in all my life have *ever* heard a priest   
speak so despicably!" she told Achi and Xellos as they walked out.  
  
"Oneechan, does this mean I'm going to go with you?"  
  
"Yes, Achi! You most certainly are!"  
  
Achi looked back at Xellos and grinned.  
  
"Yareyare...I need a transfer," Xellos muttered.  
  
  
  
"His Honor will see you now," a pink-haired secretary told   
them. Zelgadis and Naga stood up and walked through the door to   
the mayor's office. What they saw shocked them.  
  
It was a Lina Inverse temple.  
  
Her face was all over the walls in several different posters,   
paintings, and murals. A fountain in one corner had a statue of Lina,   
unclothed, spraying water from her mouth into a pool below. In   
another corner, there was a Lina Inverse shrine featuring small Lina   
statuettes and Lina candlestick holders.  
  
Naga whistled in amazement. Zelgadis just walked towards the   
man sitting behind the ornate oak desk.   
  
The mayor of Inverse looked up and smiled. "Hello there."   
He was a balding man, but young, the hair around his ears was still   
black. His face could only be described as "jolly," meaning mostly   
that it was round and smiley. "My secretary tells me you would   
like to hire a ship to take you to the Sirian Sea."  
  
"That's right," Zelgadis told him. "We're prepared to pay   
whatever tariffs are nece..."  
  
"Sorry, can't help you," the mayor told him.  
  
"Why not?" Zelgadis asked.  
  
"The Sirian Sea is too dangerous. No ship is allowed that   
far up."  
  
"Excuse me," Naga said, holding a hand up. "Danger isn't a   
problem. *I'm* with them."  
  
"And you are?"  
  
Naga smiled. "Given your taste in decoration, I'm sure you've   
heard of me...I'm....NAGA THE SERPENT!" She finished this off by   
posing theatrically.  
  
The mayor looked at her. "Um...Who?"  
  
Naga hit the ground. She quickly shot to her feet and slammed   
the palms of her hands down on his desk facing off with him. "HOW   
CAN SOMEONE WITH A LINA INVERSE OBSESSION NOT HAVE HEARD OF NAGA   
THE SERPENT, HER GREATEST RIVAL!!??"  
  
The mayor stuttered. "I'm sorry, but I've never..."  
  
Naga screamed.  
  
"As for the danger, it'd be different if you did have Lina   
Inverse with you," he said with genuine admiration. "She's   
wonderful..."  
  
Naga made a lunge for the mayor's throat, but Zelgadis managed   
to catch her.  
  
"She's the idol of every man, woman, and child in this town,"   
the mayor explained. "Why, if she were here, she'd be able to take   
care of any danger the Sirian Sea threw at her!"  
  
Naga suddenly stopped struggling and grinned. "Well then," she   
said, "Isn't this fortunate?"  
  
"What?" Zelgadis asked.  
  
"What?" the mayor echoed him.  
  
"It just so happens that Lina Inverse is a member of our party.   
She sent us to take care of a ship. She's busy elsewhere right now."  
  
"What?!" Zelgadis hissed.  
  
The mayor brightened. "REALLY?! LINA INVERSE IS HERE!? IN   
THIS TOWN?! IN PERSON?!"  
  
Naga nodded. "That's right. So, how about that ship?"  
  
"Well, yes of course!" the mayor said excitedly.   
  
Naga grinned.   
  
"As soon as I meet her and make sure that she has everything   
she needs for the trip."  
  
Naga's grin disappeared. "Um..."  
  
"Please?!" the mayor begged. "I am her *BIGGEST* fan! I'm   
not only the mayor of Inverse, I'm the president of her fan club!"  
  
"She has...a *fan club*?" Zelgadis asked.  
  
"You let me meet her," the mayor whispered conspiritorially,   
"And I'll get you that ship, a crew, supplies, whatever you need."  
  
Naga smiled. "And while we're here, we'll need proper   
accomodations..."  
  
The mayor took out a paper and pen and began to scribble madly.   
"Take this to the Juraia Inn. My brother runs it. He'll give you   
the best rooms in the house, food, the whole bit!"  
  
Naga took the note and stuffed it between her breasts. "We'll   
bring her by tomorrow."  
  
Zelgadis nearly had a heart attack.  
  
"WONDERFUL! WONDERFUL!" the mayor cried. "Oh, thank you, Miss   
Nags..."  
  
"'NAGA!' IT'S 'NAGA!'"  
  
"Right, of course! Thank you!"  
  
"Then we'll be on our way." With that, Naga turned and started   
for the door. Zelgadis followed, trying to contain his rage.   
  
From behind them, they heard the mayor scribbling on a piece   
of paper. "HA! EVIL TAX CUT! DRAGON SLAVE!!"  
  
The doors closed behind them.  
  
"OOOOOHOHOHOHO!!!"  
  
Zelgadis crossed his arms over his chest. "And just how are   
we going to introduce Lina to her biggest fan when Lina is in Krenek?"  
  
Naga leaned forward until her face was only an inch from his.   
"I haven't the faintest idea," she whispered.  
  
Zelgadis grit his teeth and struggled to speak as Naga walked   
away.  
  
  
  
The inn on the mayor's note was a well-to-do establishment   
with three floors, the first floor containing what everyone was most   
concerned about right then...  
  
A restauraunt.  
  
"'Welcome to McInverse,'" Sylphiel read off her menu as she   
opened it. "My, I didn't realize that Lina was this popular."  
  
"No one realizes it. I'm surprised she doesn't live here,"   
Zelgadis commented.  
  
A waitress, her hair dyed fiery red like Lina's, and even   
dressed like the short sorceress, walked up to them. "Hello,   
there!"  
  
Naga jumped and ducked. "Sorry...reflex," she said,   
getting up again.  
  
"This is a theme restauraunt?" Zelgadis asked.  
  
"That's right!" the waitress said with a smile. "Dedicated to   
the life of Lina Inverse! We have memorabilia, floor shows, and   
delicious food in honor of Lina Inverse!" She handed Achi a   
children's menu. "Here you go, Sweetie. What would you Lina-ites   
like to drink?"  
  
"Hemlock," Naga muttered.  
  
"Wine for now," Zelgadis told her.   
  
"Tea for me and Achi," Sylphiel told her.  
  
"Okay, be right back," the waitress said, flashing them a   
smile and victory sign.  
  
They looked over the menues as they waited. "Ragna Roast,   
Giga Spare Ribs..." Zelgadis remarked as he read.  
  
"Look!" Sylphiel cried, pointing to one part of the menu.   
"I'm a salad!"  
  
Xellos ooh'd at his menu and read out loud, "'Xellos, the   
Mysterious Pie. What's inside? That's a secret.'" He smiled.   
"I'm intrigued."  
  
"What are you, Zelgadis?" Sylphiel asked. "A steak? Something   
bloody, I bet."  
  
Zelgadis just stared at his menu.  
  
"What is it?"   
  
He sighed and read, "The Zelgadis Chimera Shortcake," he said   
with difficulty. "Available with three different types of frosting,   
served with ice cream or Shabrinigdo Sherbert."  
  
Sylphiel sweatdropped. "Well...that's not bad..."  
  
"I think...I'm going to cry," Zelgadis muttered.  
  
Naga slammed her fist on the table. Achi looked up angrily.   
She had been working on the "Amelia's Amazing Maze of Justice" on   
the back of her menu. "Hey! What's the big deal?!"  
  
"There's no Naga the Serpent Surprise!" Naga cried out.   
"Where am I?!"  
  
"Luckier than me, that's where you are," Zelgadis pointed out.  
  
"I WILL NOT BE DENIED MY PLACE IN HISTORY!" Naga cried. "I   
demand to speak to the manager about this!"  
  
"What's this?" Zelgadis asked a passing waitress. He pointed   
at his menu. "The Inverse Special?"  
  
The waitress nodded. "In honor of Lina Inverse..."  
  
"So I gathered," Zelgadis told her.  
  
"It's items A through double Z on the menu, five servings of   
each. It's specially designed for if the real Lina Inverse ever   
comes to eat here. Anyone who can finish the whole thing is made   
an Honorary McInverse Sorceress and gets a free Lina Inverse plushie!"  
  
"Hmmmm..." Zelgadis replied.  
  
Naga handed the waitress the menu. "One side, little boy,   
leave it to the professional. I'll take one of those."  
  
They all ordered and waited for their food. As they waited,   
Zelgadis brought up their newest problem.  
  
"The question is, how do we get a boat if we don't have Lina   
with us?"  
  
"Perhaps if we explain that we're friends of her's, he'll let   
us have one anyway," Sylphiel suggested.  
  
"Then we have to tell him we lied to him today," Zelgadis   
said, throwing a look to Naga.  
  
Naga blinked. "Don't look at me! I saw an opening and I took   
it! Besides," she said with a grin, "I have a plan ready."  
  
"You do?" Sylphiel asked.  
  
"Yep," Naga assured her. "I call it..." She stood up and   
posed theatrically. "NAGA THE SERPENT'S AMAZING SLIGHT OF SORCERESS   
TRICK!!!"  
  
"Who does she remind me of?" Zelgadis asked in frustration,   
racking his brain for an answer. Meanwhile, Achi was showing   
Sylphiel the connect the dots picture of Amelia she had just finished.  
  
"What does this plan entail?" Xellos asked.  
  
"Simple," Naga told him. "I, someone intimately familiar with   
Lina's habits, dresses up like her and plays Lina for the mayor. He's   
never actually met her. How would he know the difference?"  
  
At this, everyone at the table except Naga and Achi laughed.  
  
"What?! WHAT'S SO FUNNY?!"  
  
Sylphiel blushed at being caught laughing at her friend. "Well,   
Miss Naga...It's just that...well...we're not sure you'd make the best   
Lina..."  
  
"Why not?!"  
  
Xellos had the answer to this one. "Let's just say you're   
underqualified in some areas and um..." He reached out and poked   
Naga's breasts with his staff. "...*Overqualified* in others," he   
finished.  
  
Naga growled at Xellos' bold move and stood up. "FLAAAAARE..."  
  
"Who ordered the special?" the waitress asked, holding a   
rather large tray as she walked up to their table.  
  
"ME!" Naga cried, sitting back down and grabbing her knife and   
fork.  
  
"Oh, my," Xellos commented as Naga began to eat. "Perhaps she   
*could* imitate Lina..."  
  
"No," Zelgadis said, "There's one thing, and one thing alone   
that has always set Lina apart from anyone else..."  
  
"Her temper?" Naga asked between bites.  
  
"Her hair?" Sylphiel questioned.  
  
"Her impeccable sense of fashion?" Xellos threw in.  
  
"No," Zelgadis told them. "If the mayor wants to know if   
someone is really Lina, he'll ask her to do the Dragon Slave...and   
there's only one person here who can do it." He turned to   
Sylphiel...  
  
So did Xellos and Naga.  
  
Achi was busy making golems with her mashed potatoes.  
  
"Um...I'm sorry?" Sylphiel said, unsure.  
  
"You want *her* to be Lina?!" Naga asked incredulously, pointing   
at Sylphiel.  
  
"Can *you* do the Dragon Slave?" Zelgadis asked.  
  
"Well...no, but..."  
  
"Then we haven't much choice, now, do we?"  
  
They all looked to Sylphiel again, who sighed. "I suppose   
there isn't much choice, is there? All right, I'll do it."  
  
"We'll have to coach her," Naga said through a mouthful of   
roast beef.  
  
Zelgadis nodded.  
  
"Oneechan, can I go watch the floor show?" Achi asked.  
  
"Sure, Achi chan. Let's go together." Sylphiel took the girl's   
hand and walked her towards the door marked, "stage."  
  
"There's no way *she* can pull this off," Naga told Zelgadis.  
  
"Give her a chance," Zelgadis replied, "Sylphiel has surprised   
us, more than once, I might add."  
  
Xellos stood up. "If you'll excuse me, I wouldn't mind catching   
the floor show, myself." He walked in the direction Sylphiel and Achi   
had.  
  
Zelgadis watched while Naga continued to eat. "One question,   
Naga," he said, "If you and Lina were such a great team, how come   
you're not still together?"  
  
Naga took a long swig of wine before answering. "A good   
question. You see, it all started with..."  
  
"LOOK! It him!"  
  
They both blinked and turned to the source of the disturbance.   
Zelgadis blinked and hit the ground.  
  
Two purple-haired twins in familiar outfits stood near the   
stage door.   
  
"It that chimera from before!" one twin remarked.  
  
Zelgadis gasped as he lived through a flashback....Lina and   
Amelia in tight, leggy outfits, singing a sappy love song while he   
fed them lines.  
  
"Hey you!" the other twin cried. "We remember you!"  
  
"Excuse me, I have to go," he said quickly and took off   
towards another part of the restauraunt.  
  
The twins chased after him. "Wait! We get bonus if we add   
real life Lina Inverse lackey to act!"  
  
Naga shrugged and continued her meal.  
  
  
  
Zelgadis ducked through a doorway and stood stock still,   
listening.  
  
"I think he go this way!" he heard, then the sound of two   
sets of feet running past the door. He took a relieved breath and   
turned. He was in some kind of exhibit hallway. Either wall was   
lined with pictures, paintings, statues, or artifacts....all of   
them having something to do with Lina.  
  
He walked further down the hall, passing one of Lina's capes,   
a lock of her hair, and a few other pieces of what this town   
preferred to call 'history.'  
  
He turned a corner and paused. Sylphiel was standing there,   
looking at a painting on the wall. "Sylphiel?"  
  
She turned and smiled. "Zelgadis."  
  
"Where's Achi?"  
  
"Xellos is watching her. I wanted to see what kind of   
memorabilia they had here."  
  
"Ah." He walked forward until he was standing next to her.  
  
"There are little portraits of us here," she told him. "With   
captions next to each one, talking about us." She smiled. "You'll   
be happy to know that despite your menu item, you're known as the   
gruff, yet kind-hearted chimera with a heart of gold."  
  
Zelgadis snorted. "I prefered it when they thought of me as   
a heartless swordsman."  
  
"I don't know," she said, "I think their description fits you   
rather well."  
  
"And you?" he asked. "The pure shrine maiden who comes to   
Lina's aid in her hour of need?"  
  
She smiled. "Actually, the caption next to my picture is   
very short."  
  
"I find that hard to believe," he told her, and meant it.  
  
She looked down at her feet and blushed slightly. "Thank you,   
Zelgadis. See? You *are* kind-hearted."  
  
Zelgadis paused suddenly. "Just don't let it get out," he   
growled, trying to regain his composure.  
  
Sylphiel only smiled, not buying into his act. "Of course   
not." She turned back to the painting. It was a picture of the   
entire group: Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis, Amelia, and Sylphiel. Looking   
closer, Zelgadis noticed that Lina and Gourry were holding hands.  
  
He looked back at her and found that it was that part of the   
painting she was staring at.  
  
"Have you decided yet what you'll do after you cure your curse?"   
she asked quietly.  
  
He looked away from her, at the painting. "Go home," he said,   
just as quietly.  
  
She looked at him with some surprise. "Home?"  
  
He nodded. "I...I have a mother and sister there."  
  
"I didn't know," she said.  
  
"They...don't know about this. When Rezo did this to me...I   
couldn't go back. I couldn't face them like this."  
  
"Zelgadis..."  
  
"How does a boy face his mother with the body of a monster?"   
he whispered.  
  
He felt her hand take his. He looked at her in surprise.   
  
"You're not alone," she said.  
  
He smiled. "Thank you, Sylphiel, but you have no idea what   
it's been like." He sighed. "And I hope you never do."  
  
She squeezed his hand. "I *do* know," she told him. "And I   
know that a face doesn't make a person who they are."  
  
He looked down at her quizzically. For a moment, he could   
swear he saw something there.  
  
"We should go back to your room," he said.   
  
She looked up in shock.  
  
"We'll have to dye your hair and train you to act like Lina,"   
he reminded her.  
  
"Oh," she said with another blush.   
  
"Um..." But he didn't get any farther.   
  
"Yes, of course. Let's get the others." She started for the   
door back to the dining hall.  
  
Zelgadis paused and looked up at the painting again. It was a   
good likeness. He smiled, turned, and walked out.  
  
  
  
A crowd had gathered around Naga by the time they found her.   
They watched in amazement as she lifted one last forkful of noodles   
and shoved it into her mouth. The crowd applauded as Naga stood up   
and bowed, her table covered by a tower of empty plates and dishes.  
  
A waitress came out carrying a paper hat and a Lina plushie.   
"McInverse is proud to make you our newest honorary sorceress!"  
  
Naga posed and gave them the victory sign, a paper crown on   
her head, and a Lina plushie in her arms.  
  
"Naga, if you're done with dinner, we have work to do,"   
Zelgadis told her.  
  
Naga grinned and followed them.  
  
  
  
Naga tipped Sylphiel's head back until all of her hair was   
immersed in the sink. "Just relax," the sorceress told her. "I   
asked the waitress what kind of dye they use. She said this should   
only take a few hours or so."  
  
Sylphiel sighed and tried to relax.  
  
"Now then, for your Lina training," Zelgadis began. "First,   
let's see what you know. What is the most precious thing in the   
world to Lina?"  
  
"Oh, that's easy," Sylphiel replied. "Gourry Dear."  
  
Zelgadis sweatdropped. "Um...No. The correct answer is,   
'her next meal.'"  
  
"Oh..."  
  
"Question two: How long will Lina wait during an argument   
before resorting to using magic?"  
  
Sylphiel gave it some thought. "I don't think Lina would   
use magic just to win an argument."  
  
Now Zegladis *and* Naga had sweatdrops.  
  
"Er..." Zelgadis checked a flash card. "The correct answer is,   
'seventeen seconds.'"  
  
"Oh my..."  
  
"This is hopeless," Naga commented.  
  
"It's the only hope we have," Zelgadis reminded her.  
  
"Now, then, child!" Naga began her portion of the lesson.   
"Lina Inverse has an *extensive* argumentative vocabulary!"  
  
"Um...A what?" Sylphiel asked.  
  
Naga sighed. "Let me put it this way: She can swear in six   
different languages. Now how many curses do you know?"  
  
Sylphiel gave the question honest thought. "Well...I know   
the 'B' word."  
  
"'B' word?" Naga asked, blinking.  
  
"You know," Sylphiel whispered. "'Butt.'"  
  
"I CAN'T WORK LIKE THIS!" Naga cried, throwing her hands into   
the air and walking out of the room.  
  
Sylphiel sighed. "Maybe it is hopeless."  
  
"Perhaps so, but that's no reason to give up," Zelgadis told   
her. "You just need to get into the Lina mindset."  
  
"How do I do that?"  
  
"It can't be too hard," Zelgadis joked, "Lina lives there."  
  
She smiled at this.   
  
Zelgadis regarded her for a moment, then smiled as an idea came   
to him. "Maybe Naga's right. Perhaps this is too much for you."  
  
"Huh?" Sylphiel said, blinking in surprise.  
  
"After all, one can't expect a shrine maiden to be able to do   
much of anything."  
  
"Now wait just a second!" Sylphiel cried in response.  
  
"Perhaps you should just hide here in your room until it's over.   
We'll get Achi to play Lina..."  
  
"Zelgadis! What are you talking about?!"  
  
Zelgadis faced her and scowled. "I'm talking about you. If   
you can't do something as simple as this, perhaps you should just go   
home."  
  
Sylphiel stood up, her hair dripping red dye onto the carpet.   
"Why would you say something like that!?" she cried. "Haven't I   
done enough already?!"  
  
"Ha!" Zelgadis laughed in her face. "So far you've done   
nothing but pine after Gourry and coddle that little girl!"  
  
Sylphiel balled her hands into fists. "That's not true! I   
pull my weight!"  
  
"What do you weigh? Ten pounds?" Zelgadis asked her harshly.  
  
"I've cooked for you! Looked after Achi! I've even   
volunteered for this stupid idea!"  
  
Zelgadis smiled. She was almost there.  
  
"Volunteered? We practically had to twist your arm. If we   
hadn't, you would've run off to find your precious Gourry Dear and   
begged for help."  
  
Sylphiel grit her teeth. "You....you.....you...."  
  
Zelgadis waited.  
  
"YOU JERK!"  
  
Zelgadis sighed. "I guess it'll have to do."  
  
Sylphiel stared at him quizzically, her anger temporarily   
forgotten. "You mean...you..."  
  
"It's like water trying to imitate fire," Zelgadis told her.   
"You're slower to boil than Lina is."  
  
"Ah!" Xellos said, appearing at the door. "A fine trick,   
Mister Zelgadis. It always worked with Filia."  
  
"That's where I got the idea."  
  
Sylphiel blinked. "You mean...you were *trying* to get me to   
lose my temper?"  
  
"You don't honestly believe I think so little of you, do you?"  
  
Sylphiel looked away in embarrassment. "No, of course not."  
  
"Good. You're just going to have to try to fake it, I guess."  
  
Sylphiel took a breath and nodded.  
  
"I'm going back to my room. I'll see you tomorrow. And one   
more thing..." He turned and looked at Sylphiel. "Try to go to   
sleep in a bad mood. Trust me, it'll help." With that, he walked   
out the door.  
  
Sylphiel sighed. "I'm not sure I can do this," she said   
quietly, sitting on her bed.  
  
"Oh?" Xellos asked. "Why not?"  
  
"I've never been comfortable with deceiving people, even when   
it's a good cause."  
  
"It should be easy for you, Miss Sylphiel," Xellos told her.   
She looked up at him in confusion. "After all," he went on, "You   
already have two faces. A third should be easy."  
  
Sylphiel went pale. "Wh...What do you mean?"  
  
Xellos smiled. "That's a secret...Yours," he told her. He   
walked out, leaving Sylphiel there, eyes wide and terrified.  
  
  
  
"How did you sleep?" Zelgadis asked as they walked down the   
street the next morning.  
  
"Horribly," Sylphiel complained, tossing her newly dyed mane   
of red hair. "Someone in the room above mine insisted on singing   
the most disgusting limericks all night long. It kept me up for   
hours."  
  
Behind her back, Zelgadis and Naga high fived.  
  
Sylphiel rubbed the back of her neck. "And I have this   
awful crick in my neck. Someone replaced my pillow with a log   
from the woodshed."  
  
Xellos scratched his head. "How awful." A few pieces of sawdust   
fell from his sleeve...  
  
"Does this mean you're in a bad mood, Oneechan?" Achi asked   
with just a slight glimmer of hope.  
  
Sylphiel smiled down at her. "Of course not, Achi chan! I   
wouldn't let something like that bug me!"  
  
Everyone but Sylphiel hit the ground. Sylphiel only smiled   
and continued to walk towards the mayor's mansion.  
  
  
  
"Oh....my.........GOD!!!" The mayor of Inverse exclaimed when   
he saw the red head with Naga and Zelgadis. "I can't believe it! I   
cannot believe it! Ethel! Grace! Come out here!" he called to   
his secretaries. "It's *THE* Lina Inverse!"  
  
Sylphiel smiled warmly. "How do you do?"  
  
The mayor took her hand and shook it. "As I live and breathe.   
If someone had told me a week ago that I would be shaking hands with   
Lina Inverse...I would have laughed." He laughed to prove this, but   
stopped suddenly, his eyes narrowing. "Odd..." he said, "I would've   
thought you'd be shorter."  
  
Sylphiel stuttered. "Er...Yes...well...Not everything you hear   
about me is true..."  
  
"Oh, yes, don't worry, Miss Inverse. I know a real truth from   
a fake. Believe you me!"  
  
The entire gang sweat dropped at this.   
  
"Please, call me Lina," Sylphiel told him.  
  
"Really?! I can really call you Lina!?"   
  
"Um...sure?"  
  
"I cannot believe this," the mayor said, practically weeping   
in joy. "Please! Sit! Can I get you something?!"  
  
"I'd love some tea," Sylphiel said as she took a seat.   
Sitting behind her, Naga kicked the back of her chair. "I mean ale!"   
Sylphiel corrected herself. "Ale," she repeated, trying to sound   
menacing and Lina-like. "Lots of it," she went on. "And food too."  
  
"Of course!" the mayor practically to the door. "Ethel! Run   
down to the pub and get some ale and something for *Lina* to eat!   
Hurry!" He returned a moment later. "Now, then," he said, taking   
his seat behind his desk. "Your two friends told me that you need   
a ship to take you to the Sirian Sea."  
  
"That's right," Sylphiel told him. "Please?" Naga scowled and   
kicked her chair again. Sylphiel jumped. "I mean! Yes! Give us a   
ship...or...or I'll burn your whole damn town to the ground! And   
um...and um....Blow up your temples too!"  
  
Naga groaned and shook her head.  
  
The mayor laughed and put his hands up in mock surrender.   
"Of course! Of course! You'll get your ship just like I promised....  
but first..." His eyes narrowed. "You have to do two things for   
me..."  
  
Sylphiel blinked. "Um....I do?" Naga kicked her chair. "I   
mean! Like what?!" she corrected in a somewhat harsher tone.  
  
"First..." He reached under his desk and pulled out a picture   
of Lina. "Could you sign this for me?!"  
  
Sylphiel laughed nervously. "Of course!" she took the picture   
and a pen and scribbled Lina's name on it. The others sighed in   
relief that it was this easy. She handed the picture back to the   
mayor and smiled.  
  
The mayor took the picture and blinked. "Um...isn't there an   
'e' on the end of 'Inverse?'"  
  
Sylphiel's eyes widened in fearful shock. So did everyone   
else's. "Yes of course! My fault! My fault!" She took the picture   
back and quickly added the 'e.'  
  
"Thank you, Lina!" the mayor said gratefully with a huge grin.  
  
The others sighed in relief.  
  
"And two?" Sylphiel asked.  
  
"Just one...teeny...weeny...tiny...thing..." He smiled.  
  
  
  
"YOU WANT ME TO KILL A DRAGON?!" Sylphiel cried, backing away   
from the telescope at the mayor's window.  
  
The mayor nodded excitedly. "We've been waiting for this day   
for a long time!" he cried. Meanwhile, Zelgadis was looking through   
the telescope at the dark blue dragon sleeping near a mountain a few   
miles away. "This thing attacks us about once a month, then goes off   
to sleep. When it wakes up, it's hungry, and we're the nearest town   
to it!"  
  
"Hmmm...Looks like your everyday, run of the mill, wild dragon,"   
Zelgadis noted as he peered through the scope.  
  
"Yes, but very powerful," the mayor noted. "Every warrior we've   
sent after it has been eaten."  
  
"And you want to send Oneechan out there to deal with it?!"   
Achi asked.   
  
"This wasn't part of the deal, buddy!" Naga growled, picking   
up the mayor by the front of his shirt.  
  
"Please!" the mayor cried. "I have no choice! Lina Inverse   
is our only hope!"  
  
"Heh, forget it," Zelgadis told him. "You tricked us into   
meeting you under a false pretense. Let's go." He started for the   
door. Naga followed him. He stopped when he realized that Sylphiel   
wasn't following along. "Syl..er...Lina?"  
  
Sylphiel didn't turn to them as she said, "I'll do it."  
  
"WHAT?!" the rest of the party, minus Xellos, cried.  
  
Sylphiel turned to them. "I said I'll do it. I'll kill the   
dragon."  
  
Zelgadis walked up to her and took her by the shoulders. He   
leaned forward and whispered harshly. "This isn't a game, Sylphiel."  
  
"I know it's not," she said. "But how can I turn my back on   
people who need my help and leave them to be attacked at will?" She   
turned to the mayor. "I'll slay your dragon."  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"I...I guess I'll need a guide to take me out there,"   
Sylphiel said dejectedly.  
  
"No need, Lina," the mayor assured her. "Tomorrow is the   
thirtieth."  
  
"So?" she asked.  
  
"The dragon attacked us exactly twenty-nine days ago.   
Tomorrow it'll wake up and come here. He'll come to you, Lina."  
  
  
  
Sylphiel calmly walked into her room, shut the door behind her,   
and sat down on her bed. She was shocked when Zelgadis opened the   
door and stormed in after her, slamming it behind him. He stared at   
her for a second.  
  
"What the hell was that?" he asked quietly.  
  
She looked away from him. "Mister Zelgadis, I..."  
  
"Stop," he hissed. "You always do that. Every time you feel   
sorry about something, you go back to formality. Just drop it. All   
I want to know is why. You didn't have to volunteer."  
  
She looked at him, the beginnings of tears in her eyes. "I   
just had to."  
  
"Bull shit!" he growled. He walked up to her until he was   
standing over her. She looked down at the blanket of her bed and   
refused to face his glare. "No one, not even Lina, decides to face   
off with a dragon on a whim! Why?!"  
  
She finally faced him, and for the first time he saw the tears   
running down her face. "Because if I don't," she whispered, "More   
people are going to get hurt."  
  
"It's not your problem," he told her gently.  
  
"It is!" she cried, shooting to her feet. "It is..." She   
went to the window. "I watched," she whispered, "Powerless...while   
Sairaag burned..."   
  
Zelgadis said nothing.  
  
"I watched...because I wasn't powerful enough to stop it....and   
hundreds of people died because I wasn't strong enough to protect   
them..." She faced him again. "I won't have it happen again! I   
won't! I..."  
  
She stopped, her hand going to her face as sobs overtook her.   
Zelgadis watched, stock still, unsure of what to do. Finally, he   
reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. She responded by   
throwing herself into him, hugging him. Zelgadis oomph'd and looked   
down in shock. After a moment, he reached around and held her.  
  
"You're more like Lina than you think," he said quietly.   
  
  
  
Sylphiel walked out the door into the street the next morning   
and blinked in shock. There must have been five hundred people there   
holding signs that said, "We're behind you, Lina!"  
  
Zelgadis walked up from behind and sighed. "Well, they've done   
it. This town has officially beaten Femille out as 'Weirdest Town   
I've Ever Been To.'" He turned to her. "How do you feel?"  
  
"Frightened," she told him.  
  
He smiled. "You helped Lina face down Phibrizzo, and a little   
*dragon* frightens you?"  
  
She smiled. "Well...Yes..."  
  
Naga yawned loudly as she stepped out the door with them. "It's   
a dragon! Stop making it sound like it's a *real* problem!"  
  
Achi bounded out the door holding the Lina plushie Naga had won   
for her. "Wow, you mean a real life dragon?!"  
  
Sylphiel knelt next to her. "No, Achi. You have to stay here."  
  
"Awwww! But I want to see you beat the dragon, Oneechan!" (And   
if you happen to get emotionally excited enough for that curtain to   
drop, so much the better...)  
  
"It's too dangerous for you, Achi chan," Xellos told her,   
smiling. "You should stay here where it's nice and safe."  
  
"Hmmph!"  
  
"I'm sorry, Achi," Sylphiel told her, "But if anything   
happened to you, I could never forgive myself."  
  
Achi sighed. "Yes, Oneechan..." She threw an acidic look to   
Xellos.  
  
Naga eyed the plushie Achi was holding and suddenly snatched   
it from her.  
  
"Hey!" Achi cried.  
  
"Don't worry, child, it'll go to a good cause." The sorceress   
hung the plushie on her belt.  
  
"Well, let's go," Sylphiel said, taking a deep breath. She   
started down the street, Zelgadis and Naga behind her.  
  
The crowd around them cheered. "LI-NA! LI-NA! LI-NA!"  
  
Naga looked around and hmmph'd. "NA-GA! NA-GA!" she shouted   
back at the crowd. She sighed. "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride."   
She looked around and blinked. "Hey, what happened to Xellos?"  
  
Zelgadis growled. "What did you expect? For him to hang   
around and do some work?"  
  
Sylphiel said nothing. She continued to walk through town until   
she was outside the city's wall, facing the river.   
  
So far, nothing.  
  
They all turned as the doors to the city closed behind them,   
effectively trapping them outside.  
  
"Well, how's that for support?!" Naga asked in disdain.  
  
"Maybe he won't come today," Sylphiel suggested nervously.  
  
"Sylphiel, remember the plan," Zelgadis told her. "Naga and I   
will distract it long enough for you to cast the Dragon Slave. We   
may only get one shot, so make it count."  
  
Sylphiel nodded and grit her teeth in determination.   
  
That's when they heard it.  
  
A roar.  
  
The three of them turned to the river. They could hear its   
footsteps as it approached, watched as it cleared a nearby hill.  
  
Naga smiled. "Distraction time..."  
  
  
  
Xellos appeared next to Achi on the inn's roof.   
  
"You're just going to let them face that dragon alone?" Achi   
asked.  
  
"They can handle it," Xellos assured her.  
  
"And if they can't?"  
  
He smiled.   
  
  
  
The dragon roared as it spotted the town. Standing along the   
top of the wall, the towns people of Inverse cheered Sylphiel on.  
  
Sylphiel froze for a moment. She had never actually seen a   
real dragon this close before.   
  
"Sylphiel!" Zelgadis prompted.  
  
She gasped and closed her eyes, beginning her chant. "Darkness   
beyond twilight...Crimson beyond blood that flows..."  
  
Before she could finish, the dragon roared, a light forming   
in its mouth.  
  
"Laser Breath!" Zelgadis cried.  
  
Sylphiel gasped and opened her eyes in shock, breaking the   
incantation just as the dragon fired!  
  
She shut her eyes and braced herself for oblivion, then...  
  
"BALUS WALL!"  
  
Sylphiel opened her eyes and found Zelgadis standing in front   
of her, his back to her. The dragon's laser breath was being   
deflected by his spell, but just barely. She watched as Zelgadis   
fell to one knee, his hands up and still struggling to deflect the   
spell.  
  
"Zelgadis!"  
  
"Finish it!" he shouted back at her.  
  
Behind her, Naga pulled the plushie from her belt...  
  
Zelgadis grit his teeth. His stone hands were beginning to   
burn from the power of the spell. He saw a flash beside him, and   
suddenly his Balus Wall strengthened almost ten times.  
  
He looked to his right and almost gasped in shock. Xellos   
was standing there, holding his staff before him.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Zelgadis asked disdainfully.  
  
Xellos smiled in that way the chimera found annoying beyond   
belief. "Just trying to help," he said. "I have a vested interest   
in keeping Miss Sylphiel alive. After all, if she dies, we have to   
eat *my* cooking for the rest of this trip. Can't have that, now,   
can we?"  
  
Zelgadis actually smiled. Before he could say anything, he   
heard Naga's voice behind them.  
  
"VU VRAIMER!"  
  
Zelgadis watched as the dragon suddenly stopped and blinked at   
something. He turned his head and gasped.  
  
An eighty foot Lina plushie was suddenly standing behind them.   
Naga grinned and pointed at the dragon. "GO, MEGA PIKO PIKO LINA   
CHAN!!"  
  
Zelgadis stared and sweatdropped.  
  
Sylphiel stared and sweatdropped.  
  
The dragon stared and sweatdropped.  
  
Xellos paused and hmm'd...  
  
"Oh my..."  
  
Mega Piko Piko Lina Chan bellowed mightily and pounded her   
chest with her fists!  
  
"LI-NA! LI-NA! LI-NA!" the crowd on the wall chanted.  
  
"KAWAII!!!" several of the smaller girls on the wall cried   
at the sight.  
  
Mega Piko Piko Lina Chan howled and charged the dragon! The   
dragon's eyes went wide as it tried to back-pedal away. The Lina   
plushie golem, however, was not about to let it get away. It   
rushed forward, it's plushie feet squeaking adorably, and stuck its   
arm out, executing a perfect haymaker on the dragon. The dragon   
fell to the ground, dazed.  
  
Naga checked her nails and smiled. "There are times I amaze   
even myself..."  
  
The dragon got up and swiped at the golem with its tail.   
Mega Piko Piko Lina Chan caught the tail and turned, tossing the   
dragon over her shoulder into the river.  
  
Zelgadis shook his head and sighed as Piko Piko Lina Chan   
jumped up and down on the dragon's head.  
  
*SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK!*  
  
"Sylphiel! Do it now!" he cried.  
  
Sylphiel closed her eyes and began again. "Darkness beyond   
twilight..."  
  
The dragon roared one more time and tried to knock the golem   
away, but Mega Piko Piko Lina Chan was ready. She dropped her entire   
body onto the dragon, pinning it like a wrestler.  
  
"Crimson beyond the blood that flows..."  
  
Xellos appeared next to the golem and dragon, wearing a black   
and white striped shirt. "One!" he counted.  
  
"Buried in the flow of time..."  
  
"Two!"  
  
"In thy great name...I pledge myself to darkness..."  
  
The dragon roared hatefully.  
  
"Let all the fools who stand in our way be destroyed..."  
  
"THREE!"  
  
"By the power you and I possess..."  
  
Xellos waved his arms. "Fair pin!" He disappeared in a flash.  
  
Naga smiled and held out two fingers. "Victory," she whispered.  
  
"DRAGON SLAAAAAAVE!" Sylphiel cried, holding her arms out. A   
ball of hellfire formed a foot from her outstretched hands and   
coalesced, gathering power to itself, before streaking out across the   
river and striking the dragon and golem dead on. There was a white   
flash as the ball of fire detonated. Zelgadis shut his eyes and   
braced himself as the shockwave hit.  
  
"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" He heard as he felt someone grab onto him   
for dear life. He opened his eyes and saw Naga holding his arm.   
"Been awhile since I saw one of these go off!" she cried with a grin.  
  
Finally, the explosion dissipated. Where the dragon had been,   
there was only a crater. Naga blinked as a charred and burned Lina   
plushie hit the ground near her feet. She smiled and picked it up.  
  
She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Zelgadis   
there. "I believe you now when you say you're Lina's *greatest*   
rival," he told her in genuine admiration.  
  
She grinned. "You're not so bad yourself, stone man."  
  
Sylphiel closed her eyes and fell to the ground exhausted.  
  
"Sylphiel!"  
  
Zelgadis rushed to her and knelt down, checking her pulse. "I   
guess it wore her out more than we thought it would," he said. He   
picked her up. "Come on, let's get her back to the inn."  
  
They turned and found the crowd on the wall cheering   
ecstatically. Naga gave them the victory sign and waved. The crowd   
went wild.  
  
Zelgadis walked toward the gate as it opened, letting them   
back into the city.  
  
  
  
From the inn roof, Achi stared on, wide-eyed.   
  
"The Wind Dragon King was right," she breathed as she watched   
the explosion dissipate. "They *can* find Zarak Tor."  
  
She stood there watching the orange glow from the Dragon Slave   
fade for a moment longer, then disappeared in a flash of light.  
  
  
  
Zelgadis was shocked by the silence of it all as he carried   
Sylphiel down the street. The crowd on either side of the street   
was watching quietly as the red head in his arms slept. It was if   
they were deathly afraid of waking her.  
  
"She makes a better Lina than I thought," Naga whispered to   
him.  
  
He looked down as Sylphiel sighed in her sleep and cuddled up   
in his arms, making herself comfortable.  
  
"I have to admit, she's more than I could've hoped for," he   
whispered back.  
  
Naga grinned. "Is that admiration I hear in your voice,   
stoney?"  
  
"There's nothing wrong with admiring someone worthy of   
respect," he shot back quietly.  
  
"'Respect?'" Naga asked with a smile.  
  
"Yes, respect." At that moment, Sylphiel murmurred sleepily   
and squirmed around until her head was resting in the crook of the   
chimera's arm. She sighed again and continued to sleep.  
  
Naga giggled. "Awww! Isn't that cute?! She's drooling!"  
  
Zelgadis sighed and shook his head as the two walked down the   
street towards the Juraia Inn. Unknown to them, a certain   
purple-haired priest was floating high above them, watching their   
procession walk down the street.  
  
"Yareyare..." he intoned. "Perhaps there's hope for them,   
after all." He smiled, and disappeared. He had work to do and   
telepaths to watch.  
  
  
  
To Be Continued...  
  



	3. Assassins?! The Plot Thickens!

Slayers is the property of Kadokawa Shoten. The author owns only   
the writing. I'd like to thank Cav and WillZ for their help in   
proofing this chapter. You guys are great. Please send your   
comments to Davner at doscher009@hotmail.com.  
  
  
Assassins!?  
The Plot Thickens!  
  
  
The chimera leaned against the door of Sylphiel's room and   
watched the mayor walk toward him, grinning from ear to ear.   
  
"I just wanted to drop by and give Lina my most heartfelt   
thanks!" he told Zelgadis. "Is she in there?"  
  
"She's resting," Zelgadis told him.   
  
"Well, when she wakes up please tell her that the entire   
town is having a day of thanksgiving in her honor."  
  
"I will," Zelgadis told him, eager now to just be rid of the   
man.  
  
"Oh, one last thing..."  
  
"Now what?" Zelgadis growled.  
  
"The crater Lina's Dragon Slave created has begun to fill   
up with water and form a lake. We've decided to name it 'Lake   
Lina,' in her honor."  
  
Zelgadis sighed. Yet another thing done in Lina's honor,   
and she wasn't even here to have done anything for it. He thought   
back on his earlier conversation with Sylphiel, and a thought   
struck him. "Mr. Mayor, if I may, I think that Sy...er...Lina...  
would prefer you name the lake something else."  
  
"Like what?" the mayor asked.  
  
  
  
"Sylphi chan?"  
  
Sylphiel opened her eyes. "Papa?"  
  
"How do you feel?" her father asked, looking down at her   
worriedly.  
  
"Bad," she said. She ached all over. "What happened?"  
  
"Do you remember the fire?"  
  
"Yes, Papa. The scrolls...did I save them?"  
  
"One of them, Sylphi chan," her father told her. "Don't   
worry about that now. Just rest."  
  
She sat up in her bed. "What about the Shrine?" She looked   
at her father and blinked. The expression on his face was one of   
incredible concern. "Papa, what's wrong?"  
  
"Sylphi chan, listen to me... There's something you don't know   
yet..."  
  
She got up and went to the window. She had a view of the   
Shrine from her room. She looked out and saw her reflection in the   
glass. Past that, she saw the burnt remains of the Sairaag Shrine...  
  
She looked on in horror....  
  
Then screamed.  
  
  
  
"PAPA!"  
  
Sylphiel shot bolt upright in her bed, and screamed for her   
father again.  
  
"Sylphiel! Sylphiel!" she heard, then felt as someone took   
her by the shoulders. She looked up and saw Zelgadis kneeling next   
to her bed, his face a mask of concern.  
  
Her hand went to her face and sobbed as a tear ran down her   
cheek.  
  
"It was just a dream, Sylphiel," he whispered. "Relax."  
  
She took a deep breath and nodded as she collected herself.   
"How did we do?"  
  
Zelgadis huffed. "So well that the mayor has made today a   
day of thanksgiving and celebration." He went to the window.   
"They've been partying down there in the streets for hours."  
  
"How long have I been out?" she asked.  
  
"Six hours," he told her.  
  
"Have you been here all this time?" she asked.  
  
He turned and nodded. "We didn't think it was a good idea for   
you to be alone, and Naga wanted to enjoy the party."  
  
"Oh," she remarked quietly. "Why aren't you at the party?"  
  
"I don't do well in....social gatherings."  
  
"I see."  
  
He looked at her for a moment. It was easy to see that she   
was rattled. More rattled than someone who's been sleeping for six   
hours should be. "Are you sure you're all right?" he asked.  
  
She nodded. "Yes, thank you, Zelgadis."  
  
He stared at her for a minute before straightening slightly   
and clearing his throat. "Why don't you come downstairs with me.   
The party they're having is in your honor, after all....Lina."  
  
She laughed and thought on this. "Give me a few minutes to   
clean up."  
  
He nodded and walked out the bedroom door.  
  
Sylphiel climbed out of bed and started to change. She had   
just put on a new blouse when a sudden thought hit her. Something   
Achi had said before they had arrived in town.  
  
("I think he likes you...you know...like that.")  
  
At the time she had dismissed it, but now...  
  
Had he just asked her out?  
  
Her face turned red at the thought.   
  
(No, that's preposterous,) she thought. (Isn't it?) She   
continued to dress...  
  
But her face was still red.  
  
  
  
Zelgadis closed the door behind him and started down the hall.   
He didn't have to go far before seeing a smiling Naga walking towards   
him carrying a McInverse menu in her hand.   
  
"Look!" she implored him, opening the menu right in his face.   
"I told you I wouldn't be denied! Naga's Golem Goulash!   
OOOOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!"  
  
Zelgadis sweatdropped. "Er...I'm very happy for you..." He   
started to walk by her.  
  
"What's the hurry, stoney?" she asked, hopping into his path   
again.  
  
Zelgadis sighed. "No hurry. Have you seen Xellos or Achi   
around lately?"  
  
"No, but they'll turn up," Naga assured him.  
  
"That's what I'm worried about," Zelgadis muttered. What   
they needed was a council of war. He had to get this quest back   
on track. "What about the ship?"  
  
"The mayor says it'll be ready to leave tomorrow morning."  
  
Zelgadis nodded. "Good. We leave early tomorrow. If you're   
not ready, we'll leave you behind."  
  
Naga grinned. "I've heard promises like that before."  
  
"I'm sure you have," Zelgadis muttered.  
  
"Zelgadis,"  
  
He turned to the sound of the voice behind him and blinked in   
surprise. Sylphiel stood there...  
  
In a purple dress that went down to her ankles...  
  
It wasn't anything particularly flashy or especially elegant,   
but on Sylphiel it didn't have to be. It was simply your ordinary,   
run of the mill, sun dress. It just happened to look less run of   
the mill on Sylphiel...  
  
Naga stared and blinked.  
  
"What do you think?" Sylphiel asked with a slight blush.  
  
"What happened to your other clothes?" he asked.  
  
Sylphiel cleared her throat nervously. "They have to be   
washed..." she said lamely.  
  
Naga grimaced and slapped the back of Zelgadis' head. "OW!   
DAMN!" she cried, blowing on her hand. Apparently, she had   
forgotten that Zelgadis' head was made of stone.  
  
Zelgadis ignored her.   
  
"Well, I'm ready," Sylphiel said nervously. "Shall we go?"  
  
"Very well," Zelgadis said simply, missing the point of   
Sylphiel's dressing up. He turned and started down the stairs.  
  
Naga and Sylphiel watched him go. Naga snorted. "Don't mind   
him, child, he just has rocks in his head."  
  
Sylphiel only blushed and followed after Zelgadis.  
  
  
  
Achi watched these events from around a nearby corner.   
(Finally! A break!) She knew the curtain surrounding Sylphiel's   
mind could drop at the first sign of emotional distress. She just   
had to be there to pick up the ball when it did. She darted around   
the corner and after them.  
  
"And just where are you going?" Naga asked, snagging the   
young Shinzoku by the back of her dress.  
  
"Eeep!" Achi cried out. "Hey! Lemme go! I just wanna go   
downstairs and play with the Lina freaks!"  
  
Naga grinned. "Is that so? Well then, run along and play."   
She released Achi, who promptly fell down. She growled and threw a   
glare at Naga, who blinked in surprise at the intensity of the stare.  
  
Achi whispered a word.  
  
"Itch."  
  
"Well, go play," Naga told her. She turned and started down   
the hall. Suddenly, she stopped and reached behind her. She suddenly   
had the most annoying itch right in the middle of her back...  
  
Achi grinned and ran down the hall.  
  
  
  
It was approaching sunset in Inverse, but the parties were   
just starting. Bonfires were being lit, street performers were   
out in full force, including several dressed as Lina, Naga, and   
Zelgadis, reenacting the battle with the dragon. Street vendors   
were selling food or Inverse mementoes. It was a full, all out   
celebration.  
  
Through it all, Zelgadis and Sylphiel walked. Occasionally,   
Sylphiel would look up at Zelgadis, who continued to stare straight   
ahead. She looked back down at the ground, then back up at him   
again, uncertain as to what he was thinking.  
  
(Was Achi right? If he does have feelings for me, wouldn't it   
be better to remind him that Gourry dear and I....but...No, he must   
know by now that Gourry dear is in love with Lina. But I...well...  
I mean...I don't know what to think...)  
  
She looked back up at him as he walked.   
  
(Yes,) she thought as she took in his profile, (His   
appearance can be rather frightening at first...But I've also seen   
what he's like beneath...)  
  
Zelgadis looked down at her. "Something wrong?" he asked.  
  
"Huh?!" she asked, caught off guard. "No...Just thinking."  
  
"Oh. Well, the port is this way." He started down a side   
street.  
  
"Why the port?" she asked.  
  
"There's something I think you'd like to see," he said   
mysteriously.  
  
She sighed. (He really was a mystery.) Gourry, as much as   
she cared for him, was easy to read. He made no effort to hide   
anything. Zelgadis...  
  
Zelgadis was so many things. All at once a rock of strength   
and an open wound. A man of mystery and a man of straightforwardness.  
  
But if he *had* asked her to accompany him because he has   
feelings for her, then why was he so distant?  
  
And if she still believed that she had a chance to win back   
Gourry from Lina...why was she so unsettled by that distance?  
  
"Here we are," he announced. "Just in time."  
  
Sylphiel looked out over the wall at the newly formed lake.   
Down below, on one of the docks, the mayor of Inverse was already   
ten minutes into a speech.  
  
"That's where we fought the dragon today," she noted.  
  
He nodded. "Just listen."  
  
"And so," the mayor continued, "In the destruction of the   
enemy that has destroyed so many, we have a new lake. One that   
will remain a part of the city of Inverse for all time. In the   
naming of this new feature, someone suggested the name, 'Lake Lina,'   
after our savior and the hero of the day..."  
  
"Zelgadis, I..."  
  
"Shh," he replied. "Just listen."  
  
"However, one very close to Lina told us that she had another   
name in mind, and we have decided to respect her wishes. And so,"   
the mayor said, "I hereby open to shipping and fishing, Inverse's   
new lake...Lake Sairaag!"  
  
The crowd applauded.  
  
Sylphiel's mouth dropped. "Lake...Sairaag?" she whispered.  
  
Zelgadis nodded. "Lina will probably never see this town,"   
he told her quietly. "And you and I both know why you chose to   
fight that dragon. If there's a better way to memorialize your   
home, I can't think of one."  
  
She wiped a tear away. "Th..Thank you, Zelgadis," she   
whispered. "This is...This is wonderful."  
  
"I thought it was...fitting," he said.  
  
She smiled and laughed a little. (A heart of gold indeed,)   
she thought. She quickly took his hand. "Let's go get something to   
eat," she said suddenly. "I'm starving."  
  
Zelgadis, a little shocked at Sylphiel's sudden change in   
behavior, could only follow dumbly as she led him down the street.  
  
  
  
Achi looked out from behind a Lina Inverse garbage can as the   
two walked down the street. She smiled and followed.   
  
  
  
Naga growled as she scratched her back, trying to dispell that   
horrid itch that simply wouldn't leave. Meanwhile, her other hand   
was reaching across the dessert bar towards the frozen yogurt.  
  
She felt someone grab her hand.  
  
"BRAM BL...Huh?!" she said, blinking.  
  
Standing across the dessert bar from her was a man. Handsome....  
muscular...chiseled features....a warm, inviting smile...  
  
And wearing one of her outfits.  
  
Naga's eyes went wide. "What the fu..."  
  
"Are you Naga the White Serpent?!" the man asked excitedly.  
  
For the first time in her life, Naga was at a loss for words.   
He was wearing one of *her* skimpy, revealing outfits....  
  
"GROSS!" she cried.  
  
"You *are* her, aren't you?!" he cried. He took her other   
hand in his. "I'm Agan. I'm your biggest fan!"  
  
Naga shuddered. "Wonderful," she muttered.  
  
"Ever since you created that golem and crushed that dragon for   
Lina, I knew that you were the one! You were the real magic behind   
the legend!"  
  
"Um...Thanks," she said, trying to dislodge her hands from   
his...  
  
"No! Thank *you*!" Agan replied. He leaned forward. "You   
have no idea what this means to me..."  
  
She tried to laugh, but failed. "I have a pretty good idea..."   
she said quickly, looking around. "Um...Security?"  
  
He leaned closer to her, his pecs, barely hidden by the tight   
Naga bikini top, were right over the dessert bar. "Miss Naga, will   
you marry me?"  
  
"DILL BRAND!!!" She cried.  
  
The desert bar promptly exploded, showering nearby McInverse   
patrons with ice cream, cake, yogurt, and pies! By the time the   
smoke cleared, Agan was out cold on the other side of the room, half   
submerged in a Lina fountain.  
  
Naga blinked some sherbert out of her eyes and looked down to   
find her breasts coated with whip cream. "Yuck!" she cried.  
  
"Hey!" she heard to her right. She turned and found those   
same twins who had been giving Zelgadis trouble earlier standing   
there, pointing at her. "This family restauraunt! Floor shows have   
to be PG!"  
  
"Yeah!" the other one cried, adopting a combat stance. "Take   
your whip cream stripping to club down street! And no horde in on   
our action!"  
  
Naga grinned and threw back her cake coated cape. Whip cream   
covered a good portion of her body, and though she couldn't be sure,   
it felt as if there was a piece of Xellos the Mysterious Pie on her   
head.  
  
"Now, now, little girls," she warned. "It's not nice to   
threaten the famous."  
  
"Get her!" one of the twins cried. The two rushed her.  
  
"Uh...oh..." was all Naga had time for before the twins were   
on her...  
  
  
  
Achi followed the two down a dimly lit street and did another   
scan. It was obvious that Sylphiel was being cautious with her   
words and thoughts. That only led to more problems for Achi. She   
listened in as Sylphiel made a few attempts to start a conversation   
with the chimera.  
  
"So where are you from?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, Blessed Dragon, that's *so* cliche," Achi whispered to   
herself in disgust.   
  
"Perrenia," Zelgadis told her. "Near Atlas City."  
  
"Oh. I hear it's nice there," Sylphiel told him lamely.  
  
Achi growled. Getting into Sylphiel's head meant that the   
curtain Xellos put up had to be dropped, and in order for *that*   
to happen, Sylphiel had to experience a moment of emotional distress,   
something strong enough for Achi to slip in undetected...  
  
She smiled. Xellos' curtain may keep Achi from taking thoughts   
*out* of Sylphiel's mind, but it couldn't keep her from putting   
thoughts *in*.   
  
She'd have to be careful, though. Manipulation on such a level   
could be detectable. She thought carefully and made a mental send...  
  
  
  
"Zelgadis, do you think I'm pretty?" Sylphiel asked suddenly.  
  
Zelgadis looked at her and blinked in surprise.  
  
Sylphiel was no less surprised than he was. She covered her   
mouth with her hand in shock.  
  
"Well...Yes, I suppose so," Zelgadis told her. "Why do you   
ask?" (What the hell is she doing?) he asked himself.  
  
"I've seen you looking at me," Sylphiel said quickly. (WHAT?!)   
she asked herself in total confusion. (WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?!)  
  
Zelgadis' eyes narrowed. "Looking at you?"  
  
"On the way here," she said. Sylphiel, meanwhile, was blinking   
in confusion.  
  
"Sylphiel, are you feeling okay?" Zelgadis asked. (Perhaps   
she needs more rest...)  
  
"I've been looking at you, Zelgadis," she said. (WHAT?!)  
  
(WHAT?!) Zelgadis asked himself.  
  
Meanwhile, Achi was ducked behind another waste basket,   
giggling to herself as she mouthed a few more words.  
  
"You've been so kind towards me," Sylphiel said. (STOP IT!)   
she ordered her brain. "So brave..." she whispered. She found   
herself moving towards him.   
  
Zelgadis took a step back, confusion all over his stone face.   
"Sylphiel, what's the matter with you?"  
  
(STOP IT!) she begged her mind. What was happening to her?!  
  
Achi smiled. Any second now...  
  
She felt something touch her shoulder.  
  
"EEP!"  
  
She turned and found Xellos there. "Hello," he said simply.  
  
In front of them, Sylphiel lost her step and fell forward...  
  
Right into Zelgadis' arms.  
  
She turned a bright crimson and quickly stood up. "I'm sorry,   
Mister Zelgadis! Excuse me!" She ran into an alley and disappeared.   
Zelgadis only stood there in utter confusion.  
  
"Playing with human minds is dangerous business, Achi chan,"   
Xellos told her. "Especially in this case."  
  
"Buzz off, Mazoku!" Achi hissed back. "I'm working here!"  
  
Before Achi could protest, Xellos had her by the scruff of   
the neck. He quickly vanished with her, reappearing on a nearby   
rooftop.  
  
Achi began to power up. "Don't interfere, Mazoku," she   
warned.   
  
Xellos leveled his staff at her. "I'm giving you a friendly   
warning, that's all," he told her. "You don't want these humans   
angry with you. I know from experience."  
  
"Hmmph! They're just humans!" she snapped.  
  
"Phibrizzo said something very similar," Xellos said with a   
grin. "He's not saying much now, is he?"  
  
"My job is to find the location of Zarak Tor," Achi hissed.   
"And I will do that job in whatever manner I see fit. And if you...  
or these humans...get in my way," she whispered dangerously, "I'll   
implant a nightmare in their minds so terrifying, they'll spend the   
rest of their lives *screaming* and trying to claw their eyes out to   
get away from it!"  
  
Xellos regarded her for a moment.  
  
"Don't think I can?" she asked with a smile. "Don't test me,   
Xellos. You're powerful, but your mind is just like any other. Try   
me, and I'll turn it into freak modern art."   
  
With that last threat, she disappeared.  
  
Xellos took a breath. He had to be extremely careful. He knew   
that of all the Shinzoku, Achi was one of the most dangerous. If she   
made a threat, nine times out of ten she was capable of following   
through on it.  
  
"Yareyare," he whispered with a frown, then vanished himself.  
  
  
  
Naga, bruised, dirty, and still covered with pastry,   
walked/limped down the road, growling in anger at what had transpired   
at McInverse.  
  
And that damn itch in her back was only getting worse!  
  
It was agonizing! She just couldn't reach it! She growled   
again and rubbed her back against a stone colum nearby. Dammit.   
Too smooth...  
  
She looked up and found Zelgadis walking up the road towards   
her, a disconcerted look on his face.   
  
"Thank God!" she cried, and ran towards him. Zelgadis looked   
up at the sound of her voice. "Stand still!" she cried.  
  
"Wha..." he tried to get out, but before he could, Naga was   
turned around and rubbing her back against him! "NAGA!!"  
  
"Dammit! I have this itch I can't reach! Just stand still!"  
  
Zelgadis sighed. "First an anchor and now a scratching post,"   
he muttered.  
  
  
  
Sylphiel sighed as she turned a corner. She had been wrong   
to run out like that. If nothing else, she owed Mister Zelgadis   
an apology.   
  
She still had no idea why she had acted that way. For some   
reason, the words had just popped out of her mouth.   
  
(Maybe it was my subconscious,) she thought. (Maybe it's   
trying to tell me something.)  
  
That she had feelings for Zelgadis?  
  
She stopped and blinked.   
  
Could that be it?  
  
Zelgadis was a kind...brave man...And like her...he was alone   
in the world.  
  
She started walking again. She'd apologize to him for her   
behavior...  
  
And maybe ask him if he'd still like to have dinner.  
  
She smiled and started walking just a little faster.   
  
(I'll start over,) she thought. (Everyone is allowed a second   
chance. I'll apologize and offer to make it up to him with dinner...  
home made...Yes...That's what I'll do.)  
  
Maybe she *did* have feelings for Zelgadis. It was possible.   
And perhaps Achi was right, and Zelgadis had feelings for her. After   
all, he had been kind to her throughout this journey. He had shown   
*some* interest...  
  
She turned a corner and stopped suddenly.  
  
Zelgadis was at the end of the road...  
  
With Naga...  
  
Who was rubbing herself against him in a *very* suggestive   
manner...  
  
She felt her heart plunge into her stomach. (I see now,) she   
whispered in her mind. (It wasn't me.) She remembered now how   
Zelgadis and Naga had taken an interest in debating with one another.   
And right before she had blacked out during the attack on the dragon,   
she had seen him place a hand on the sorceress' shoulder.  
  
She had made a mistake.  
  
An error.  
  
She turned and darted back around the corner.   
  
A second later, Achi appeared right where the shrine maiden   
had been standing. She blinked and took a sniff of the air.   
Reaching down, she placed a hand on the ground where Sylphiel had   
been standing, feeling the woman's mental essence there and reading   
her state of mind. She smiled.  
  
"Score!"   
  
She disappeared again in pursuit of the white sorceress.  
  
  
  
Xellos appeared on another roof top and took a look around. He   
had decided that the best way to keep Zarak Tor out of Shinzoku hands   
was to keep Achi from finding its location before he could. That   
meant keeping a watch on Sylphiel.  
  
He disappeared and reappeared again a block down. He was just   
about to fade out and try another block when he caught a flash of   
purple down near the docks. He faded out and reappeared closer.   
Sure enough, it was Sylphiel, standing on the end of one of the   
fishing piers, looking out over the newly formed lake.  
  
He floated down to the pier and started walking. Of all the   
members of their party, Sylphiel was the only one so far to give   
him any trust at all. Although he was, by his very nature, prone   
to take that trust and use it to his own advantage, he was by no   
means incapable of appreciating it.  
  
Sylphiel turned to him as he approached. "Mister Xellos,"   
she said quietly in greeting.  
  
"Ah, Miss Sylphiel," he called out, making this seem like a   
purely chance encounter. "How are you feeling this evening? You   
worried us when you collapsed this morning."  
  
"I'm all right," she said quietly. "And you?"  
  
"Just taking in the cheesy retro-ambience," he told her with   
a smile. She didn't reply. "Is there something wrong, Miss   
Sylphiel?" he asked.  
  
She sighed. "I've made a very embarrassing mistake," she   
whispered.  
  
"Oh?" he asked.   
  
She nodded. "Mister Xellos, I realize you are a Mazoku. That   
you're...incapable...of feeling things like love." Xellos said   
nothing. "I envy you."  
  
He smiled evilly. "Do you now?"  
  
She nodded. "One thing that's become clear to me in the past   
year is that with love comes pain. If you can't feel love...you   
can't feel the pain associated with it."  
  
He stepped closer until he was standing next to her. "It's   
not like a shrine maiden of Sairaag to make assumptions, Miss   
Sylphiel," he said quietly. "We Mazoku do not experience love in   
the same way that you humans do, but we do have emotions that, to   
us, mean things very similar."  
  
Sylphiel blinked at him. "Mister Xellos...are you trying to   
say you've suffered a broken heart?"  
  
He smiled at her. "Me?! Certainly not! I have no heart to   
break, remember?" She smiled at this little joke, but said nothing.   
"No," he whispered, "But as I said, something similar. You are   
correct, Miss Sylphiel, we do not experience what you might call   
the more positive emotions, but there is a fine line between anger...  
and passion."  
  
She looked at him again and blinked.   
  
"I knew a woman," he whispered conspiritorially, "who fought me   
at every turn, every decision. She made every effort to insult me,   
anger me, incur my wrath, and she did it with the knowledge that I   
could crush her any time I felt like it."  
  
Sylphiel took in a quick in drawn gasp of breath. (Lina?!)  
  
"And yet, I enjoyed it," he continued. "I loved sparring with   
her like that. Before long, I wasn't experience wrath with her. I   
no longer *hated* her...But I *did* feel passion."  
  
"I see," she said.  
  
He smiled. "And even I must admit...she had a wonderful   
tail..."  
  
Sylphiel blushed a deep crimson at hearing a man who called   
himself a priest speak so. "I guess it's not simple no matter who   
you are." He only nodded. "I wish sometimes I knew what other   
people were thinking," she said. "It would make things so much   
easier. And mistakes far less frequent."  
  
"Do you now?" Xellos asked. "Shall I tell you another story?"  
  
She nodded.   
  
"Among the ranks of the Shinzoku, there is a woman with the   
very powers you want. She mastered the elements of the mind when   
she realized that she would never have the same amount of raw power   
that the other Shinzoku had."  
  
"So instead, she concentrated somewhere where power wasn't   
the greatest factor?" Sylphie asked.  
  
"Yes, exactly," Xellos told her with a smile. "She went from   
being a low level goddess that the other Shinzoku found...having no   
other appropriate word, 'cute,'...to a woman feared not only by the   
Mazoku but by her comrades in the Shinzoku as well."  
  
"Why feared?"  
  
"Because, Miss Sylphiel, suddenly, she knew it all. All of   
their secrets, all of their desires and ambitions were laid bare   
before her." Sylphiel listened intently. "She became the Shinzoku's   
chief spy as well as a watchdog on the others for the Wind Dragon   
King. She became a personal threat to most Shinzoku and all Mazoku.   
She ended up alone, her friends too frightened of her to be near   
her voluntarily. All because she wanted to know what they were   
thinking."  
  
"That's so sad," Sylphiel remarked. "Is it a true story?"  
  
Xellos grinned. "As true as any other story I tell."  
  
She started to giggle...then laugh. "I'll keep that in mind."  
  
"Life is a hundred times more interesting, when you *don't* know   
the answers," he told her.  
  
She smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Mister Xellos."  
  
Sitting on a rock under the pier they were standing on, a young   
girl wiped a tear from her eye.  
  
"Screw you too, Xellos," she whispered, then vanished.  
  
  
  
At the other end of town, two horsemen entered the city of   
Inverse. Blonde hair and youthful features could be seen beneath   
their black hoods, but not much else. Steel broadswords rode their   
hips beneath their dark cloaks.   
  
One of the horses snorted as the rider checked him to a stop.   
The gate guard of Inverse stepped forward and held a torch up.   
  
"Who you be?" he asked.   
  
"Travelers," one of them said. "Travelers who have heard that   
a sorceress is here looking for passage to the Sirian Sea."  
  
The guard smiled. "Ah! You mean Miss Lina! Yeah, whole   
town's talking about it!"  
  
The two made no sign either approval or disapproval of this.   
They started forward again.  
  
"Whoa!" the gate guard called out. "It's after sundown, I   
can't let you two in."  
  
The two horsemen paused a moment. Looking up, they saw three   
more guards start walking towards them to assist the gate guard.  
  
"Very well," the one on the right said. "We'll come back   
tomorrow." With that, the two turned their horses and started   
riding back down the road.  
  
  
  
"Ah, the life of a sailor!" Naga cried, taking a deep breath   
of the morning air on the river while absently scratching her back.  
  
The ship the mayor of Inverse had granted them was a small   
clipper with a shallow draft, making it ideal for traveling up   
and down the river. It had only two masts, but no rowers. Even   
so, it was more than adequate for the small group of adventurers.  
  
Sylphiel joined Naga at the deck rail and looked out over the   
river with her.   
  
"So," Sylphiel began, "How did your date with Zelgadis go?"  
  
Naga gave her a puzzled look. "Isn't that my line?"  
  
"Well," Sylphiel said nervously, "I just meant that you two   
seemed very friendly last night in the street....I just assumed   
that...Well...I guess I..."  
  
"OOOOOOHOHOHOHOHOOHO!!!!"  
  
Sylphiel blinked at her.  
  
"Sorry to burst your bubble, child, but I don't date statuary.   
By the way," she said with a grimace and turning her back to the   
shrine maiden, "Could you scratch my back? This thing is killing   
me! I must have slept on some poison ivy or something..."  
  
Sylphiel blinked in confusion and began to dumbly scratch Naga's   
back. (So...They *aren't* together...)  
  
  
  
The gate guard opened the gate of Inverse to the public promptly   
at sunrise. He whistled as he performed his daily duty. He looked   
up at the sound of horses coming his way and was barely able to jump   
back fast enough to avoid being trampled by the two horsemen he had   
seen last night.  
  
"Hey!" he called after them. "Not so fast!"   
  
By then,however, it was too late.   
  
They were in the town.  
  
  
  
"Ah, young love," Naga said with a grin.  
  
Sylphiel blushed. "It's nothing like that at all!" she cried.   
"My heart belongs to Gourry dear! I just thought that Mister Zelgadis   
might appreciate a home cooked meal...to thank him for watching out   
for me yesterday..."  
  
"Of course you did," Naga said with a grin. "And then, of   
course, there's dessert." She leered at the shrine maiden.  
  
"D...dessert?" Sylphiel asked.  
  
Naga's grin widened. "You've never had dessert with a man,   
child?"  
  
"Well, I've prepared desserts in the past...Um..."  
  
Naga rested a hand on Sylphiel's shoulder. "No, no, no,   
child," she whispered. "I mean the *good* kind of dessert."  
  
Sylphiel turned bright red at Naga's implication.   
  
"You see, child," Naga whispered with a grin, leaning closer   
to Sylphiel, "When a young woman such as yourself, makes dessert for   
a young man such as Zelgadis, there's one key ingredient that *must*   
be included..."  
  
Sylphiel gulped.   
  
"Strawberries?"  
  
Both women shrieked at the sudden interruption. They turned   
to see Xellos standing right next to them, unnoticed until now.  
  
"Not strawberries?" he asked with a shrug.  
  
Naga went toe to toe with him. "Hmmph! Figures that a   
lecherous old priest would want to know the secret ingredient!   
Shoo!" she cried, waving him away with her hand. "Go on! Shoo!"  
  
"But I'm genuinely interested!" the Mazoku said with a grin.   
"What is the secret ingredient that Miss Sylphiel simply *must* add   
to her dessert with Zelgadis?"  
  
Sylphiel turned an even deeper crimson. "There is no dessert!   
I was just going to make dinner!"  
  
"And this dinner has nothing to do with the conversation we had   
last night?" he asked.  
  
Naga turned to Sylphiel, her hands on her hips. "You went to   
some lecher priest for advice about sex before coming to me!?"  
  
"Oh! So it *IS* about sex!" Xellos cried, clapping his hands   
in delight.  
  
"IT'S NOT ABOUT SEX!" Sylphiel cried. Every Inversian sailor   
on the deck turned her way. Sylphiel was the color of a ripe tomato   
by now.  
  
  
  
Down on the pier, a checklist in his hands, Zelgadis shook his   
head at the sound of the arguing going on aboard the ship. He checked   
a barrel one of the sailors was carrying and nodded, ushering the man   
aboard. He wanted to get this ship loaded and underway.   
  
Back on course...  
  
  
  
"Welcome to McInverse! How can I help you today?!" the cheery   
Lina waitress asked.  
  
One of the two cloaked men stood at the counter...  
  
  
  
"Whipped cream?" Xellos asked.  
  
"Nope," Naga said with a smile, her arms folded over her chest.  
  
"I just wanna die," Sylphiel cried into her hands in complete   
and utter humiliation.  
  
"Bananas?"  
  
"Close," Naga said with a nod.  
  
"Then what?"   
  
Naga grinned and wagged her finger in his face. "That's a   
secret."  
  
Xellos clutched at his chest and posed dramatically. "Slain   
by my own wit!" His eyes caught Naga again. "Honey?"  
  
  
  
Zelgadis checked off the last thing on the list. "Done," he   
said to himself with a smile. "Time to go." He stopped when he   
realized they were forgetting a passenger. Achi was playing with   
some seagulls not far away. "Achi! Come on! We're leaving."  
  
"Okay, Mister Zelgadis."  
  
Zelgadis turned and started for the loading ramp. He turned   
back to make sure Achi was following. He knew Sylphiel would throw   
a fit if the little girl got left behind.  
  
Achi was running toward him. Zelgadis blinked as he saw a   
rider come from around a building and start galloping toward them   
at full speed.  
  
(Perhaps the mayor has a final message before we go,) he   
thought.  
  
This idea vanished a moment later when the rider pulled a   
broadsword...  
  
Zelgadis pulled his own sword. "ACHI! DOWN!"  
  
  
  
Achi didn't become the Wind Dragon King's top agent by asking   
questions. She hit the dirt and was amazed when she felt a breeze   
blow past her. She looked up and saw a horse running by her, a man   
in a dark cloak and holding a broadsword sitting atop it.  
  
(What the hell!?) she asked herself. She hadn't sensed   
anyone behind her...  
  
  
  
Zelgadis watched as the rider leapt off his horse and landed   
right in front of him, his face hidden by the black cowl.  
  
"Achi! Get on the ship!" he yelled. He saw the purple-haired   
girl run for the ramp. Zelgadis smiled. It had been a long time   
since he'd killed a man with his sword...  
  
And it *was* thirsty for blood...  
  
He darted toward the man and made a short jab at his face.   
The dark man spun and turned the blow expertly, parrying each of   
the chimera's attacks and make a few of his own. Zelgadis frowned   
as he realized he was being pushed back...  
  
  
  
They turned as Achi came clambering up the ramp.  
  
"Achi chan?" Sylphiel asked.  
  
"It's Mister Zelgadis!" she cried.  
  
The three rushed to the other side of the ship and looked down.   
Sylphiel gasped in shock at what they saw. Zelgadis was being hard   
pressed by a strange man in black.  
  
Naga brought her hands up. "FREEEEEZE!" she began the spell   
and aimed along the fire shaft. "ARROW!"  
  
The bolt of frost flew from her hands right on target. It   
struck the man dead in the back...  
  
And dissipated into nothingness.  
  
Naga gasped.  
  
  
  
Zelgadis' eyes went wide when he saw the freeze arrow simply   
disappear into the man's back. The attacker didn't seem to care   
one bit. He darted forward and made another slash at Zelgadis.   
The chimera brought his sword up and blocked the blow barely inches   
from his face.   
  
He hadn't counted on his opponent being so skilled. Zelgadis   
hadn't had this much trouble with a swordsman since he fought Gourry.   
And since it seemed that magic wouldn't work, he was stuck.   
  
He pushed forward with a cry and brought his sword around in a   
two-handed slash. The attacker leaped away and brought his sword up   
to counterattack.  
  
  
  
"Hmmm...An interesting quandry," Xellos noted, his finger on   
his chin.  
  
"Miss Naga," Sylphiel began, readying a spell. "Go up to the   
aft deck and get us moving."   
  
Naga blinked as Sylphiel began to concentrate. "I just tried   
that!" Naga bit out. "Magic won't work!"  
  
"Hurry, Miss Naga!" Sylphiel cried. Naga growled and ran up to   
the aft deck.   
  
The captain blinked at her in confusion.   
  
"Hold onto the wheel, Gramps," Naga said with a grin. She   
held her hands to her midsection as if cradling something. Then,   
with one quick movement, thrust them towards the sail.  
  
"BOMB DE WIND!!"  
  
A shot of compressed air struck the sail, instantly filling it.   
The ship lurched forward and began to move. Naga prepared another   
one and looked down at Sylphiel.  
  
The shrine maiden took a breath. She had never tried this   
spell before. "Floating spirit on the water..." she began.  
  
Xellos smiled as he saw what she was going to do. "Mister   
Zelgadis," he shouted down at the chimera, who was still fighting for   
his life. "I suggest you get ready to fly..."  
  
If Zelgadis heard him, he gave no sign. He was too busy   
blocking the latest flurry of slashes from his opponent.  
  
"As thy words of pledge," Sylphiel continued, holding her   
hands up in the same way Naga had earlier. A cold mist began to   
form. "Obey me and be my power..."  
  
The mist coalesced into a thin shaft of ice. Sylphiel licked   
her dry lips and aimed carefully at the two fighting men below. The   
ship was moving already. She had to do this now.  
  
"FREEZE ARROW!!" she cried, and let the ice shaft loose! The   
icicle shard sped down to the pier...  
  
And hit the ground right behind the assailant.  
  
"You missed!" Achi cried in despair.  
  
"No she didn't," Xellos said with a smug smile.  
  
The man in black took a step back, under attack from Zelgadis,   
and placed his foot on the patch of ice formed by Sylphiel's spell.  
  
The man cried out as he slipped and landed hard on his back.  
  
"Zelgadis!" Sylphiel cried.  
  
"LEVITATION!" they heard him cry out. He began to float   
upward.  
  
"BOMB DE WIND!" They heard as Naga gave the sails another   
boost.   
  
Zelgadis landed nimbly on the deck as the ship left port and   
began to speed away down the river.  
  
The man in black climbed to his feet and watched as the ship   
moved further away. He sheathed his sword in disgust and started   
to walk away. It was up to his brother now.  
  
  
  
Zelgadis crouched down on one knee, his hand going to his side.   
"Damn," he swore under his breath. One of his assailant's swings had   
gotten through, and if it hadn't been for his chimera body, it would   
probably have gone right through him.  
  
"Are you all right?" Sylphiel asked, crouching next to him.   
  
"I'm fine," he growled painfully.  
  
She reached out and lifted his shirt. Zelgadis raised an   
eyebrow at this but said nothing. She bit her lip as she found the   
wound, a four inch chip in his side. "Will a healing spell work on   
you?" she asked seriously.  
  
"Yes," he told her. "Rezo's curse seems to take into account   
the possibility that I might be injured.  
  
"Lie down," she ordered.   
  
"It's not *that* bad," he told her.  
  
"This will be easier if you're at rest," she told him, putting   
her hands on his chest and pushing him down to the deck. Zelgadis   
obeyed and layed down on his back.   
  
Sylphiel seemed to realize where her hands were and pulled back   
as if scalded, blushing.   
  
Zelgadis seemed to take her haste as disgust, and grimaced.   
"Get to it," he growled.  
  
Sylphiel's face fell. She bit her lip and began chanting a   
recovery spell, her hands on Zelgadis' side.  
  
Naga came down from the aft deck. "Well, we're on the move,"   
she announced.  
  
No one bothered to reply.  
  
"Don't everyone thank me at once," the White Serpent growled.  
  
Xellos was deep in thought at the rail of the ship, watching   
the scenery go by. They weren't past the town yet, so he could still   
see some activity, shoppers mostly. "We appear to have a new problem,"   
he mused.  
  
"Miss Naga's magic didn't work against him," Achi threw in,   
too concerned to worry about agreeing with Xellos.  
  
"And he nearly killed Mister Zelgadis," Xellos added.  
  
"Heh," was all Zelgadis would say.   
  
"Maybe Miss Naga's magic has stopped working," Achi sugggested.  
  
"Nonsense!" Naga cried. "My magic is as good as it ever was!"  
  
"NAAAAAGAAAAA!!!" someone cried from the shore. Naga gasped   
at the voice and turned to see Agan running along the shore, waving.   
"COME BACK, NAAAAGAAAAA!!!"  
  
"Watch," Naga growled. "I'll prove it." She raised her arms   
and aimed at Agan. "FLAAAAARE ARROW!!"   
  
Just as Naga was releasing the fire bolt, Xellos reached out   
with his staff and gave her a slight push. It was enough, and the   
fire bolt missed Agan, striking the ground next to him in a large   
explosion, throwing sand and dirt into the air. Agan was thrown to   
the ground.  
  
Naga turned on Xellos, glaring hatefully. "It's an abomination,   
and it HAS-TO-*DIE*!" she hissed.  
  
Xellos only arched an eyebrow. "Yareyare..." he muttered.  
  
Meanwhile, Sylphiel had completed her spell, and Zelgadis   
climbed to his feet. "One thing is for sure," he said, "We have an   
enemy out there. We have nothing worth stealing. He was out to kill   
me, period."  
  
"We'll have to be more cautious," Sylphiel commented.  
  
"Well, it doesn't really matter now!" Naga told them. "We're   
on the move, he's stuck back there."  
  
"I certainly hope you're right, Miss Naga," Sylphiel commented,   
looking out at the shore. "I do hope you're right."  
  
  
  
Belowdecks, in the ship's hold, a barrel fell over and rolled   
to the bulkhead. It jumped on its own twice before the lid flew off   
the end. Booted feet emerged followed by the rest of a man...  
  
A man in black.  
  
  
  
"You didn't sense him, did you?" Xellos asked Achi in a   
straightforward manner.  
  
"No," she said, once again forgetting that she was conversing   
with 'the enemy.' "I didn't even know he was there until Zelgadis   
said something."  
  
Xellos looked out over the river. "Someone from Zarak Tor?"  
  
"That would imply that there's someone left alive on Zarak Tor,"   
she hissed quietly.  
  
"Then how do you explain it?" he asked with an annoying smile.  
  
"Coincidence," she huffed.  
  
"'Coincidence?'" He asked. "The exact thing the Wind Dragon   
King *and* Phibrizzo once feared showing up out of nowhere...  
coincidence?"  
  
Achi turned and faced him. "No one survived, Xellos," she   
growled.  
  
Xellos wagged a finger in front of her face. "I guess we'll   
just see. If there *were* survivors, then that means your boss made   
an even bigger mistake than even he thought." He smiled, turned, and   
walked away.  
  
Achi stuck her tongue out at him and turned back to the river.  
  
(Survivors...)  
  
Impossible! She was there! She saw it! The Wind Dragon King   
himself delivered the final blow...  
  
But if Zarak Tor survived...couldn't its inhabitants survive as   
well?  
  
She sighed.  
  
"Dammit," she muttered.  
  
  
  
Sylphiel looked at herself in the mirror and admired the   
blue-violet strands of hair there. Finally, she felt like herself   
again. It had taken hours to rinse the dye out of her hair, but it was   
worth it. She stood up and looked out the porthole in the room she   
was sharing with Achi and Naga. The shore of the river wasn't too far   
away. She found herself searching for men in black.  
  
"Who was it?" she whispered to herself. "Unless..."  
  
Her eyes widened.   
  
(No! Surely it couldn't be...)  
  
But if it was....  
  
She rushed out of the cabin. She had to talk to Zelgadis.  
  
  
  
"How long until we reach the Sirian Sea?" Zelgadis asked the   
captain.  
  
At the wheel, the captain of their ship, the Mariposa, thought   
for a moment. "We got a good wind, going down river...three more   
hours, maybe."  
  
Zelgadis smiled. "Good."  
  
"But, Mister Zelgadis, sir," the captain began, "What happens   
after that?"  
  
Zelgadis blinked. The captain was right. He had no idea   
where the island was, and the Sirian Sea was a rather large body   
of water...  
  
"Zelgadis!"  
  
He turned and looked down to see Sylphiel, her hair back to   
normal, looking up at him from the main deck.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"I think we should talk."  
  
Zelgadis nodded and hopped down to the main deck.  
  
"I think I know who attacked you," she said seriously.  
  
"Who?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.  
  
"The elves of Zarak Tor."  
  
  
  
"This doesn't make any sense at all!" Naga complained, walking   
around the captain's cabin, absently scratching her back. "There   
*are* no more elves...at least not on this continent! There's that   
one island Lina and I went to once, but that's on the other side of   
the continent! The rest left a thousand years ago, after the War of   
the Monster's Fall!"  
  
Xellos made a small noise.  
  
"What?" Naga asked.  
  
"Nothing," he said, "Just remembering something."  
  
"I'm telling you," Sylphiel said quietly, "They're here."  
  
Zelgadis said nothing and mulled it over. They had been   
debating for three hours now. "Sylphiel, *how* do you know this?"   
he asked.  
  
Sylphiel took a breath. "I guess it's time I told you the story.   
Zelgadis, may I see the map, please?"  
  
Zelgadis retrieved the map and handed it to Sylphiel.   
  
"This map," she said, was drawn by my great great grandfather   
many years ago," she said, spreading it out onto the table. "It's a   
map to the Sirian Sea, but that's all it is."  
  
"Then what good is it?" Naga asked.  
  
"Because," she said, removing a scroll from a satchel she had   
been carrying. "It was prompted by the discovery of this." She   
laid it out before them. It was very old, the edges appeared burned.   
On this sheet were numbers, a few illustrations, grids...  
  
"What is it?" Naga asked, clueless.  
  
"It's a rudder," Zelgadis said.  
  
"A what?" Naga asked.  
  
"It's a pilot or navigator's personal log," Zelgadis explained.   
"As his ship travels, he marks off navigational points, hazards, things   
like that. The question is, whose is it?"  
  
"Four hundred years ago," Sylphiel began, "A healer priest at   
the town that is now Inverse, was summoned in the middle of the night   
to a fisherman's home on the edge of town. When he got there, the   
fisherman explained that he had found a man floating near some flotsam   
in the water of the Sirian Sea while he was out fishing." She looked   
up at them. "The man had long, pointed ears."  
  
"Lots of people have long, pointed ears, child," Naga said,   
pulling on one of Zelgadis' ears with a smile.  
  
"There's more," the shrine maiden continued. "The man was   
injured. Afraid that he might die before waking up, the healer   
priest tried a recovery spell on him....It didn't work."  
  
"You mean it was too late?" Xellos asked.  
  
"I mean the spell had no effect," Sylphiel elaborated. "None.   
The man died soon afterward. When they tried to cremate the body...  
they had to use pitch and torches because the flames of a fireball   
spell wouldn't touch him."  
  
"He was immune to magic," Zelgadis muttered.   
  
"But how?" Naga asked.  
  
"The healer priest wondered that same question and asked for   
help from a visiting cleric from Sairaag. They investigated for   
several months. The only thing they could come up with was that it   
was a natural immunity. That for some reason, the..." she faultered   
and thought for a moment. "How did they word it?" she whispered to   
herself. "That the magical field simply didn't exist for them."  
  
"That's not possible," Zelgadis told her straight out. "The   
field that creates magic is generated by everything. Rezo looked   
for ways to disrupt it, but couldn't do it."  
  
"The elves could," Sylphiel argued. "That's why the island   
was lost."  
  
"Okay," Naga said, "Excuse me, but I'm throwing the 'Huh?!'   
flag right now! Could someone explain this island to me?"  
  
"During the War of Monster's Fall, the elves allied themselves   
with the Golden Dragons and the Shinzoku." They all turned as Xellos   
continued. "To combat the Mazoku, the elves built weapons they felt   
would neutralize our abilities."  
  
"Ugh!" Naga cried. "No need to remind me! I nearly got   
killed by one of those damn orihalcon turtle things!"  
  
"One of their creations was a weapon that totally negated the   
magical field." He smiled, "However, before it could be used, the   
Shinzoku intervened."  
  
"I thought you said the elves and the Shinzoku were allies,"   
Zelgadis said.  
  
"They were, but the elves had a bad habit of acting without   
thinking first."  
  
"No joke," Naga muttered.  
  
"They created this weapon without realizing that it affected   
the Shinzoku in the exact same manner that it did the Mazoku. The   
Shinzoku would be powerless against it."  
  
"So they struck first," Naga concluded.  
  
"The Wind Dragon King lead his forces against the peninsula of   
Zarak Tor near the Algalagath Sea..."  
  
"Then why are we in the Sirian Sea?!"  
  
"During the attack, the Wind Dragon King cast a final spell,   
hoping to banish the entire area from this world, to erase all   
knowledge of what had transpired there. However, the weapon was   
already activated. During the spell, something went wrong. The   
peninsula disappeared completely."  
  
Sylphiel nodded. "When the priests went through the elf's   
belongings they found two things. This rudder, and a coin. The   
inscription on the coin read, 'Entredes Pyrannus Zarak.'"  
  
"Zarak Tor," Xellos concluded. "The Wind Dragon King's spell   
succeeded in moving the island...but only two thousand miles, not to   
the next world as he had hoped."  
  
"Meaning it's somewhere out there," Zelgadis concluded,   
looking out the porthole into the fog of the Sirian Sea.  
  
"And this rudder will tell us where," Sylphiel told them.  
  
  
  
"Well?" Zelgadis asked the captain.  
  
"We're on the right course according to the rudder you gave   
us," the captain said. "Though it's rather vague. I *think* we're   
on the right track."  
  
Zelgadis sighed and walked forward, toward the bowsprit. "I   
guess it's better than nothing." He stopped when he saw Sylphiel   
standing on the bow, looking out at the ocean. He stepped forward   
again. "Sylphiel?"  
  
She turned. "Hello, Zelgadis. Is there anything wrong?"  
  
"No. The captain says we're on course."  
  
She nodded.  
  
"One thing I've always hated about ocean travel," he remarked,   
"It's so boring."  
  
"I know," she replied. "The ocean's very pretty, but after   
awhile, it gets redundant."  
  
He turned to her as an idea occurred to him. "Have you been   
practicing looking into the astral plane?"  
  
She nodded.   
  
"Think you're ready to try a spell?"  
  
She nodded again. "I guess." She remembered the nature of   
astral magic and balked slightly. "Surely you don't want me to try   
it out on something alive?!"  
  
"Why not?"   
  
She faultered for a moment. "Zelgadis, I can't attack   
something's living essence just to see if I can do it!"  
  
Zelgadis gave this some thought. "Alright. I have an idea."  
  
  
  
Timor, just another sailor on the Mariposa, whistled as he   
coiled a length of rope on the main deck. He looked up at the sky   
for a moment and checked the sun. It was midafternoon now, and the   
sailor was casting a long shadow on the deck.   
  
He finished coiling the rope and turned to bring it belowdecks.   
That's when he heard it. A faint whizzing noise and a thud.  
  
He looked back to find that someone had thrown one of the darts   
from the crew's dartboard and struck the deck in the middle of his   
shadow. He shrugged, turned, and started to walk away...  
  
Then he tripped.  
  
He hit the deck with a thud and stood up. He tried walking away   
again, but found he couldn't. He was trapped!  
  
"Witchcraft!" he breathed. "Mates! Mates! Help! I'm   
bewitched!"  
  
  
  
Hiding behind the main mast, Zelgadis smiled. "That's all   
there is to it," he told the woman standing next to him.  
  
"A shadowsnap," Sylphiel mused.   
  
"It's nonlethal," he told her. "And it has several uses."  
  
They watched as several more sailors rushed to Timor's aid and   
tried to move him from the spot where his shadow had trapped him.  
  
"Since it also makes use of the skills needed to perform just   
about any basic Shamanistic spell, it's a good place to start."  
  
Sylphiel nodded. "Alright."  
  
Zelgadis handed her one of the darts he had filched from the   
back room.  
  
Sylphiel took the dart and stared at it, doing as Zelgadis   
taught her and charging it with her own astral energy. The dart   
glowed faintly.  
  
"That one," Zelgadis said, pointing at one of the sailors   
trying to help Timor. The sailor's shadow fell on the deck a good   
bit away from them, so there was little danger of Sylphiel missing   
and striking one of them.  
  
Sylphiel licked her lips and threw the dart.  
  
The throw was hasty and it was obvious she was inexperienced,   
but the dart struck the man's shadow regardless.  
  
The target realized he couldn't move and began to wail.  
  
"IT'S GOT ME! IT'S GOT ME! MOMMYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!"  
  
"Zelgadis, perhaps we should let them go now," Sylphiel   
suggested sheepishly. She didn't want to hurt anyone, but she hadn't   
wanted to frighten them either.  
  
"Very well," Zelgadis relented. "LIGHTING!"  
  
He generated a ball of light and tossed it towards the sailors.   
The light dissipated the shadows, and suddenly, Timor and the other   
sailor fell forward, instantly freed. The men got up and scampered   
as far from that part of the ship as they could.  
  
  
  
Achi put on a broad smile and skipped up to the captain.   
"Hello, Captain Sir!" she said prettily, batting her eyes at him in   
a way that would make anyone melt and hug her.  
  
The aging seaman smiled. "Hello, there, little girl," he said,   
leaning down to her. "What are you doing up here on this part of the   
ship?"  
  
"Nooooothing," Achi said and giggled. She gazed into his eyes   
and readied herself to take what he knew of Zarak Tor from his mind.   
Xellos had managed to keep her out of that war conference they had   
had, but she knew about the rudder now. If she could...  
  
"Achi chan!"  
  
(DAMMIT!) She tried to enter the captain's mind before the   
Mazoku caught up to her.  
  
"Achi chan! What are you doing up here?! You shouldn't play   
here..."  
  
She grimaced as Xellos interposed himself between her and the   
captain. "I just wanted to watch Mister Captain steer the ship,"   
she pouted.  
  
Xellos smiled. "You shouldn't bother Mister Captain," he noted.   
His eyes went wide as he felt a pain in his head.  
  
(And you, Mazoku, should've listened to my advice,) he heard in   
his mind. (I'm going to warn you one...last....time. Stay out of my   
way.) He gasped slightly as the pain left.  
  
"Mr. Xellos?" Achi asked innocently. "Are you okay? You   
look sick. You should go below and go to sleep. Dream a little."   
She smiled cruelly and rested her hand on the ship's compass.  
  
Xellos regained his composure and smiled. He waved his hand   
and watched the compass under Achi's hand break.  
  
Achi blinked at the broken piece of equipment. "Wha?"  
  
"AUGH!" the captain cried. "Do you know how expensive a   
ship's compass can be?!"  
  
"Um...I..." Achi began.  
  
"Get down to the main deck!" the captain roared. "The   
bridge is no place for a child! Now go!"  
  
Achi glared. "Don't talk to me like that!" she yelled.   
"Ack!"  
  
She yelped this last part as Xellos grabbed her ear.   
"Achi chan! How dare you break Mister Captain's compass and then   
mouth off to him!? You, young lady, are getting a spanking! Right   
here! Right now!"  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
Xellos sat down on a nearby bench and tossed the child-like   
Shinzoku over his knee. Achi's eyes went wide as she realized that   
there was nothing she could do! As long as she was in sight of so   
many people, she couldn't blow her cover!  
  
Achi wasn't known among the Shinzoku for just her powers over   
the mind, she was also known for thinking on her feet. Among the   
Mazoku, Xellos was the great manipulator. Among the Shinzoku, it   
was her.  
  
In a second, she had a plan.  
  
She sniffled.  
  
Xellos brought his hand up.  
  
She took a deep breath and...  
  
"ONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA  
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA  
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA  
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA  
AAAAAN!!!!!"  
  
Xellos' eyes went wide as he realized he was in trouble.  
  
"MISTER XELLOS!!!"  
  
He turned and saw Sylphiel standing on the bridge, Zelgadis   
right behind her and trying desperately to keep out of the way.   
Sylphiel's expression was enough to melt a solid lead brick as she   
glared at the trickster priest.  
  
The captain and other officers on the deck quickly turned   
back to their duties and whistled nonchalantly.  
  
Xellos chuckled as he tried to think of what to do now.  
  
Achi acted. She jumped off Xellos' lap and ran to Sylphiel.  
  
"ONEECHAN!!" she cried, hugging Sylphiel and crying into her   
tunic. "He...he...*sniff*...he was going to beat me..eee..eeeee!"  
  
Sylphiel's glare increased a few thousand degrees.  
  
Xellos stood up and started to back away.  
  
"If there was ever a time for you to disappear," Zelgadis   
said, "It's now."  
  
The shrine maiden began to advance on the trickster priest.   
She actually began to roll her sleeves up! Hiding behind her, Achi   
stuck her tongue out at Xellos.  
  
"I don't care what kind of priest you are," Sylphiel began   
dangerously. "But don't ever let me catch you laying a hand on that   
little girl again!"  
  
"But..." Xellos started.  
  
*CRACK!*  
  
He felt a strange sensation on the side of his face as his   
cheek began to grow hot. Sylphiel was standing before him, her eyes   
shut, her face a mask of anger, and her hand at the finishing end of   
the slap that had just struck him.  
  
He blinked.   
  
So did Zelgadis. He knew from experience that getting a shot   
in at Xellos was near impossible. Filia had spent a good portion   
of their journey trying to do it, and had failed, and she was a   
*golden dragon*!  
  
Xellos was speechless. (Passion, indeed,) he thought. He   
looked up for a moment, then pointed. "Look! A cloaked man is   
cutting the rigging on the main mast!"  
  
"If you think I'm going to fall for th..." Sylphiel began.  
  
"He's not kidding!" the captain cried, pointing. "Look!"  
  
They turned and found a man in black standing high up on the   
mast, cutting lines one by one.  
  
"It's him," Zelgadis growled. "LEVITATION!" The chimera   
began to float upwards toward the yard arm of the main mast. He drew   
his sword as he landed on the yard arm. He was now standing between   
the man and the mast, cutting off his escape.  
  
Zelgadis smiled. "We never got a chance to finish," he   
commented, starting toward the man.  
  
The man in black drew his sword and prepared for battle. The   
wind whipped at his cloak and Zelgadis' as they moved towards one   
another.   
  
Down on the aft deck, the rest watched as the two began to   
fight. Naga stepped out of her cabin and yawned. "Hey, what's   
going on? I was taking a nap!"  
  
They all pointed up at the yard arm where Zelgadis and the   
unknown man were fighting furiously now.  
  
"Again?!" Naga asked in disbelief. "Well, that's no problem."   
She pointed her hands upward.  
  
"Naga? What are you doing?!" Sylphiel asked quickly.   
  
"The same thing you did," the sorceress replied.   
"FREEEEEZE...."  
  
"No, wait! Don't!" the captain yelled.  
  
"ARROW!!"  
  
The ice arrow flew up towards the yard arm and struck it dead   
on. A coat of ice began to spread along the length towards the mast.   
  
The man in black tried to back away, but the ice gained on him.   
His foot slipped and he fell, landing in the water with a splash.  
  
"MAN OVERBOARD!" someone yelled.  
  
"That's the least of our problems," the captain sighed.  
  
"LEVI.." Zelgadis began, but it was too late. He slipped on   
the ice and fell towards the deck, smashing through the floor of   
the ship.  
  
The yardarm, frozen brittle by Naga's blast and the supporting   
lines cut by the mystery man, broke off near the mast and swung   
downward. At the end of its swing it broke off completely and fell   
toward the deck like a flachette, spearing right through the decks   
and into the sea, leaving a gaping hole in the bottom of the ship.  
  
"GET THE CARPENTER!" the captain yelled. "THE CARPENTER!"  
  
The ship began to fill rapidly and lurched to one side.  
  
"We're going down!" Naga yelled.  
  
Xellos hmm'd. "So we are. Well, it's not the way I would   
have *preferred* to get off the hook, but any distraction's better   
than none!" With that, he disappeared.  
  
"Xellos, you jerk!" Achi cried, latching onto Sylphiel.  
  
Naga straightened. "RAYW..."  
  
Suddenly some loose rigging fell, swinging from the mizzenmast   
and striking the sorceress in the head, knocking her into the sea,   
unconscious.  
  
"Achi, hold onto me!" Sylphiel cried.  
  
She ship turned onto its side as sailors and officers rushed   
about trying to prevent the ship's death. Sylphiel and Achi were   
thrown overboard by a sudden lurch to the left. She felt herself   
strike the cold water...  
  
And then nothing...  
  
  
  
To Be Continued...  



	4. Zarak Tor! This Is the Island of the El...

Slayers belongs to Kadokawa Shoten. Achi belongs to me. ^_^ \/  
  
  
Slayers: Faces  
Part 4  
Zarak Tor!  
This Is the Island of the Elves?!  
  
  
Zelgadis groaned and opened his eyes slowly, lances of pain striking his   
head as unexpected bright light hit his pupils. He squeezed them shut again.   
He tried to remember what happened. He had fallen through the main deck just as   
the ship started to fall apart. He had grabbed hold of a barrell...  
  
Then nothing.  
  
Where was he?  
  
He could feel sand beneath him. He was on land somewhere...  
  
He lifted his head and opened his eyes again. He saw someone's hand in   
front of him and blinked, going for his sword.  
  
The hand that went to his belt was the one that he had seen...  
  
He blinked again and held the hand out in front of him.  
  
The *human* hand...  
  
His eyes widened. He quickly rose to his feet, ignoring the pain in his   
head. He examined the hand closely, comparing it to the other. Both were   
identical. Identically human. He lifted his shirt and looked at his chest.   
It was not blue rock that met his eyes, but pink, human flesh.   
  
He took a deep breath. He had to be dreaming. He spun around. He saw   
jungle, a flash of purple, a lagoon...  
  
He spun back to the lagoon and fell to his knees before it. He took a   
breath and leaned over the water, slowly opening his eyes.  
  
He gasped, his hand going to his face in shock, touching the skin there.   
He ran his hands through his brown hair, no longer stiff metallic tendrils, but   
real human hair.  
  
The former chimera began to hyperventilate. It wasn't possible. It had   
to be a dream. There was no way...  
  
He drew a small dagger from his boot and cut his arm with a quick slash.  
  
"Ow! Damn!" he hissed, holding the arm. He looked down and saw blood.  
  
He felt the pain, saw the blood...  
  
And laughed.  
  
He laughed and screamed at the sky. "YES!" he screamed. "I'M *HUMAN*!!   
DO YOU HEAR THAT, REZO, YOU SON OF A BITCH!? HUMAN!!"  
  
He laughed again, and for the first time, remembered that he didn't know   
where he was. He took another look around, enjoying the feel of the sun tanning   
his face. He saw his sword lying not far away. He apparently had had enough   
sense to keep his hold on it. He quickly sheathed it and continued to examine   
the beach.  
  
He heard something and turned, his hand going to his sword. It was a sob.   
He blinked when his eyes locked on the source.  
  
Sylphiel was kneeling next to the water, her back to him, her face in her   
hands as she wept. Her tears fell from between her fingers, striking the water   
and disturbing the reflection there.  
  
It didn't strike him that she was crying. He was too preoccupied with his   
own situation. "Sylphiel!" he cried, starting towards her. "Sylphiel! Look!   
Look! It worked!"   
  
She refused to turn to him.  
  
"Sylphiel! Look at me! Please!" he begged. "This...This is the   
greatest day of my life! And it's because of you!"  
  
She said nothing. She kept her face hidden and shook her head   
frantically.  
  
"Sylphiel," he whispered, kneeling next to her. "Look at me..."  
  
He reached out and took her shoulder.   
  
"Sylphiel,"  
  
Slowly, Sylphiel lowered her hands and turned to him, tears in her eyes.  
  
Zelgadis gasped in shock and actually took a step back in surprise.   
"Sylphiel?" he breathed, a lump forming in his throat.  
  
She looked up at him, her expression one of pure horror. The entire left   
side of her face was scarred, as if it had been burned beyond recognition, but   
healed years ago.  
  
Zelgadis shook his head in disbelief. It *was* a nightmare. It had to   
be.   
  
Sylphiel saw the revulsion in his eyes, and fresh tears welled up in her   
own. Without a word to him, she dashed off, covering the left side of her face   
with her hand.   
  
"Sylphiel! Wait!" he cried, taking off after her. He ran into the   
jungle in the direction she had run, but soon lost sight of her. Branches and   
thorns stuck into his still tender flesh as he ran.  
  
"Sylphiel!" he called out. "SYLPHIEL! Dammit!"  
  
The jungle was dense. He couldn't see more than a few meters ahead in   
some places.   
  
This nearly caused his death.  
  
He ran pell mell through some thick brush and cried out in surprise as he   
started to fall. He reached out and grabbed a branch, but it was covered in   
thorns. He felt the pain in his hand and reflexively let go!  
  
He cried out again as he fell into a very deep hole...  
  
  
  
Naga woke up with half her body in water. She reached out and grabbed   
hold of a waterlogged fallen tree, using it to pull herself out of the river in   
which she had found herself.   
  
She grabbed hold of a low branch on another tree and used it to steady   
herself onshore. She was next to a river, trees and swamps lined either side.  
  
"Hello!?" she called out, hoping to find Sylphiel or Zelgadis....or, if   
absolutely necessary, Xellos or Achi. "Great," she muttered. "I'm alone."  
  
On the plus side, that itch in her back was gone.  
  
She saw a log floating by and arched an eyebrow. She arched the other a   
moment later when the log's eyes opened, revealing itself to be a crocodile.   
The reptile changed its course and started toward her.  
  
Naga smiled. "Dinner time." The crocodile was still moving toward her.   
She raised her hands and pointed. "FLAAAARE ARROW!"  
  
Nothing.  
  
The crocodile seemed to snort at her in amusement.  
  
"FREEZE ARROW!"  
  
The reptile started toward her again.  
  
"FREEZE BRID! FIRE BALL! VU VRAIMER!"  
  
Nothing.  
  
Naga began to back up. The crocodile followed and prepared to lunge at   
her.  
  
Looking around, Naga quickly picked up a large rock with both hands...  
  
The crocodile stopped, its yellow eyes going wide...  
  
"ROCK THROW!"  
  
Naga tossed the large stone, which landed right on top of the crocodile's   
head! Feeling that dinner should be delayed, the crocodile turned and swam off   
in search of less feisty prey.  
  
The sorceress dusted off her hands. "OOOOHOHOHOHOHO!!! Who says my magic   
doesn't work?!"  
  
With that, she turned and started into the swamp in search of her party.  
  
  
  
Achi woke up and spit sand out of her mouth. She sat up and looked   
around. She was on the beach. Waves were breaking not far away, the water   
reaching up and soaking her. She saw the jungle line not far away.  
  
That's when she realized it.  
  
She couldn't sense anything.  
  
Not a single thought was anywhere near her. It was impossible. She could   
detect thoughts from any animal, even if she couldn't interpret them. She   
should be sensing *something*.  
  
Unless...  
  
"I see you're awake."  
  
"EEP!" She turned quickly and saw Xellos standing there, smiling. "When   
did you get here?!" she asked, angry that she hadn't been able to detect his   
approach.  
  
"I happened to be flying about, looking for the others, when the oddest   
thing happened. I suddenly appeared over this island and fell onto this beach."  
  
"Let me guess," Achi said, crossing her arms over her chest. "And you   
can't use any of your powers."  
  
Xellos smiled. "Quite."  
  
Achi stood up. "You mean you can't phase into the astral plane?"  
  
"No..." Xellos answered.  
  
"Or use any of your attack spells?"  
  
Xellos shook his head.  
  
"Good!" With that, Achi ran up and kicked him in the shin!  
  
"Augh!" Xellos cried, grabbing his leg. He quickly reached out and   
grabbed Achi by the back of her dress. "Now, now, Achi chan," he growled,   
trying hard to maintain his carefree appearance. "You're in the same situation   
I am, which means you're trapped in that form...which means you're going to do   
what I say *because I happen to be so much bigger than you are!*"  
  
"Screw you, Xellos! Lemme go!" the Shinzoku cried as she kicked at   
Xellos and pounded her childish fists on his arm.  
  
The trickster priest smiled. "You know, the safe thing to do right now   
would be to destroy you..."  
  
"Just try it, buddy!" Achi taunted him.  
  
"But then again," Xellos continued, "Sylphiel and Zelgadis would   
undoubtedly take advantage of my current vulnerability to express   
their...er...objection to that..."  
  
Achi stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
"Then again," Xellos said with a grin, "Who says they have to know?"  
  
Achi gasped as she felt Xellos start to pull her towards the water.   
"Wait, Xellos," she gasped. "Wait!" He pushed her down into the shallow water   
and placed his hand on the back of her head. "You need me!" she cried. He   
pushed her face beneath the water as she struggled. Her head bobbed up for a   
moment. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE WEAPON LOOKS LIKE!" she yelled.  
  
Xellos paused suddenly, Achi's face submerged under water. The Shinzoku   
had a point. He had no idea what the weapon was, and knowing the elves, it   
could be anything.  
  
He pulled her head up. Achi gasped for breath and sat on the sand.  
  
"ASSHOLE!" she yelled. "Just wait till we're off this island and I have   
my powers back! You're having wet dreams about Prince Phil for the rest of your   
life! I swear to the Dragon!"  
  
"You said something about the weapon?" Xellos prompted, not particularly   
caring what the treacherous little snake threatened him with.  
  
She took another couple of breaths and pushed the wet lockes of purple   
hair out of her eyes. Glaring hatefully at him, she "hmmph'd!"  
  
Xellos' eye twitched.   
  
"I guess we're just going to have to work together," Achi told him.  
  
"Together?" Xellos asked with a smile. "That's stretching the   
imagination a bit, isn't it?"  
  
Achi looked up at him. "What are your orders from Metallium?" she asked.  
  
He grinned. "That's a secret," he said.  
  
"The truth, Xellos!" she demanded.  
  
His grin turned frosty. "And why would I disclose such a thing to you?   
You forget yourself, Achi chan. And you forget who you're talking to."  
  
"I haven't forgotten," she hissed. "The Mazoku. There are two   
possibilities. Metallium either sent you here to retrieve the weapon for her or   
to destroy it."  
  
"And the Wind Dragon King, I'm sure sent you on a similar quest," Xellos   
remarked. "What is it?" he asked. "Destroy the evidence so that none of the   
other Shinzoku find out about his mistake? Or retrieve the weapon so that he   
can return a hero?"  
  
Achi said nothing.  
  
Xellos grinned. "That's it, isn't it? He knows the balance of power is   
shifting again. He wants to bring the Shinzoku under his control."  
  
Achi said nothing and glared at him, her hand resting on the ground and   
slowly closing around some sand...  
  
"And then use Zarak Tor to roll right over the Mazoku," Xellos finished   
with a growl. "So why should I help you?"  
  
The Shinzoku took a breath. "There's one thing you're forgetting."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
Achi nodded. Her hand tightened, grains of sand falling between her   
fingers.  
  
"And what would that be?"  
  
"THIS!" she cried and flung the sand up into the Mazoku's eyes. Xellos   
cried out and covered his eyes with his hands, falling to his knees.  
  
Achi got up quickly and kicked him in the stomach! Xellos oomph'd and   
fell further over, forcing him to support himself on his hands and knees.  
  
The Shinzoku took the opportunity and ran into the jungle.  
  
Xellos crawled to the water's edge, washing his eyes out frantically.   
He's only been on this island an hour, and he was already hating it.  
  
He grit his teeth and growled. He had faced off with some of the most   
powerful adversaries in existence. Gaav, ValGaav, the Shinzoku, the Golden   
Dragons, Filia, Lina Inverse...  
  
But he had never felt such utter hatred toward an enemy as he did now...  
  
And he *LIKED* it!  
  
He was going to find that little, purple-haired witch and spend three days   
roasting her over an open fire! He was going to pull every pretty purple hair   
out of her head with a pair of tweezers! He was going to peel her skin from her   
body an inch at a time! And then...and then...  
  
He paused and smiled. "I wonder what Filia's doing..."  
  
He got up and ran after Achi.  
  
  
  
"Sylphi chan? Are you awake?"  
  
Sylphiel turned her head as her bedroom door opened. Her father stepped   
inside, a strange man behind him. Instinctively, Sylphiel turned so that the   
left side of her face was away from them.   
  
"Hello, Father," she said quietly.  
  
Sylphiel's father smiled reassuringly. "Sylphi chan, there's someone here   
who wants to meet you. Won't you talk to him, please? You've been locked up in   
this room for three days."  
  
"Who is it?" she asked, not really caring.  
  
He smiled. "It's the young man who pulled you from that fire. We're very   
lucky he happened to be passing through town when it happened. Otherwise you   
might be..." He stopped and would't finish. Sylphiel said nothing. Having   
seen what she'd look like for the rest of her life, she wished she *had* died in   
that fire. "Well...Won't you at least say hello to him?" he asked. "He *did*   
save your life, and he wants to see how you're doing."  
  
Sylphiel nodded once. The man stepped forward. Sylphiel took a look at   
him through the corner of her eye. He was handsome, with long blonde hair and   
wearing blue armor. He looked young, no older than sixteen. He was smiling.  
  
"Hello there," he said cheerily. "How do you feel?"  
  
There was something about the way he talked to her, something that made   
her feel like...like less of a monster.   
  
"Are you okay, little girl?" he asked her, a flash of worry on his face.   
  
"I'm...I'm..." she stuttered. A tear began to form, falling down her   
cheek.  
  
"Hey, it's okay, little girl," the man said, putting an arm on her   
shoulder. She turned and looked at him, the scar on her face visible to him.   
He blinked. "That's a nasty scar," he said. His face fell. "I'm sorry. If I   
had gotten there sooner, perhaps..."  
  
"No," she said quickly. "It..It was my fault...I..." She took a breath   
and started again. "You saved my life. Thank you."  
  
"Hey, it was no problem!" he said. "Rescuing pretty damsels in distress   
is what wandering swordsmen do!"  
  
"Thank you," she said, "But I'm not...I'm not pretty..."  
  
"Well," he said in confusion, "You have to be. It's my job to rescue   
pretty girls, and I rescued you...Therefoooooore.....you must be a pretty girl!"  
  
Sylphiel actually caught a laugh forming in her throat. "Thank you," she   
whispered, blushing despite herself. "Is there any way I can thank you for   
rescuing me?"  
  
"Well, your father told me you're a great cook! Do you think you could   
cook something for me? The wandering swordsman thing is okay for pay, but the   
food stinks."  
  
She giggled. "Of course. I promise. Oh, I almost forgot to introduce   
myself. My name's Sylphiel."  
  
The man smiled. "Gourry. Gourry Gabriev."  
  
  
  
Sylphiel opened her eyes as she lay on the soft grass of the clearing she   
had found. She wasn't sure how long she had run from Zelgadis, but she just had   
to. She couldn't bear to see the revulsion on his face at the sight of her.  
  
She hadn't known. She didn't know that the glamour spell they put on her   
to hide the scars would fade on the island. She hadn't even known it *was* a   
glamour spell. Her father had told her it was a new kind of healing spell that   
a fellow priest had perfected.  
  
He had lied to her...to spare her feelings.  
  
And now the truth was out. Xellos was right...  
  
She really was two-faced...  
  
She clutched at the grass as tears welled up in her eyes. "Gourry dear,"   
she whispered, "I wish you were here now."  
  
She heard bootsteps approaching and sighed. Zelgadis had caught up with   
her. She started to turn towards him. She owed him an explanation. She she   
looked up and gasped.  
  
The man in black stood over her, his broadsword pointed at her throat.  
  
"Don't move," he ordered quietly.  
  
  
  
When Zelgadis woke up, he was lying on his back in the back of a moving   
cart. He moaned and turned his head.   
  
A snarling bear stared back at him.  
  
He screamed and kicked out with his legs, pushing himself to the other   
side of the cart. The bear didn't follow. It was lying still on the bottom of   
the cart, dead, its face frozen in rage.  
  
Zelgadis felt the cart stop and heard voices. "Father, he's awake!"  
  
The chimera went for his sword, but found it missing. He drew his back-up   
dagger from his boot and waited. The back of the cart opened. Zelgadis tensed.  
  
A blonde woman with green eyes stood there, blinking at him. Her ears   
were long and pointed. She wore a simple shirt and pants, a bow over her   
shoulder.  
  
"It's okay," she said softly, holding her hand out. "We won't hurt you."   
  
Zelgadis, so surprised at seeing an elf, said nothing.  
  
"My name is Adara," she said slowly, as if speaking to an idiot. "A-Da-  
Ra."  
  
He blinked. Satisfied that the woman wasn't going to suddenly attack him,   
he sheathed his knife and sighed. "My name is Zelgadis, and I'm not a three   
year old," he told her.  
  
Adara blushed. "Sorry. I've never seen a human before. I wasn't sure   
you'd understand."  
  
Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake. Zelgadis grabbed hold   
of the side of the cart and looked about in shock.  
  
"It's okay!" Adara calmed him. "It's just an aftershock. We get them   
here all the time."  
  
An older man joined Adara at the back of the cart. He had black hair and   
a long beard. Like Adara, he had long, pointed ears. "Everything all right?"   
he asked.  
  
"Fine, Father," Adara assured him. She pointed at Zelgadis. "This is   
Zelgadis. Zelgadis, this is my father, Atlin."  
  
"How do you do?" Zelgadis asked. "Where's my sword?"  
  
"It's up front," Atlin told him.  
  
"What happened?" the human asked.  
  
"We found you in one of our traps," Adara explained. "We're sorry. No   
one usually goes into that part of the forest."  
  
Zelgadis took a moment to check himself for injuries. Aside from a   
headache, there was nothing wrong with him. He had a few scrapes and bruises,   
but that was all.  
  
Then he remembered.  
  
"Sylphiel!" He turned to them. "Did you find a human woman with bluish-  
purple hair?!"  
  
They shook their heads.  
  
Zelgadis took a breath. "I need my sword back," he said. "I have to find   
her."  
  
"She's a...um...friend of yours?" Adara asked, walking to the front of   
the cart to get his sword.  
  
"Yes," Zelgadis told her as she returned. He took his weapon and   
sheathed it on his belt. It was heavier than he remembered. He hopped off the   
cart and suddenly realized that he had no idea how to get back to where Sylphiel   
had disappeared.  
  
Adara saw this confusion and stepped forward. "If you like, I'll guide   
you."  
  
Zelgadis nodded. "Thank you. It's important that I find her."  
  
"Adara," Atlin said, "I'll see you back at the village."  
  
"Yes, Father. Come, Mister Zelgadis, it's this way." She started walking   
back down the road. Zelgadis followed, but first decided to try an experiment.  
  
He held his hand out in front of him. Adara saw that he had stopped and   
waited.  
  
"LIGHTING!"  
  
Nothing.  
  
"This is Zarak Tor," he said quietly.  
  
Adara nodded. "That's right."  
  
"Then magic doesn't work here."  
  
Adara laughed. "Don't be silly!" she cried.  
  
He blinked.  
  
She smiled at him. "There's no such thing as magic!"  
  
  
  
"UGH!" Naga cried as her feet squelched through the mud. "Why couldn't I   
have washed up on an exotic beach somewhere with luscious, elf cabana boys or   
something!?"  
  
She shuddered as a snake slithered between her legs and into a rotting   
log.  
  
"THIS SUCKS!" she cried.  
  
She continued to stomp through the swamp, making disgusting squishing   
noises with every step. She was passing near a giant, hollowed out log in the   
water. It was big enough to drive a carriage through and stank.  
  
"No money's worth this," she growled. It was then that she noticed that   
she was much shorter than she used to be. "Huh?" She looked down and saw that   
she was sinking into the mud. It was already past her knees.  
  
"ICK!!" she cried and tried to free herself, but the movement only made   
her sink faster. "LEVITATION!" she cried desperately as the mud passed her   
navel. "HELP!"  
  
Then she heard something roar from within the log.  
  
"Oh, yeah, this is getting better all the time," she remarked   
sarcastically. She continued to struggle.   
  
Without warning, something shot out of the log and wrapped around her.   
Naga screamed and struggled as the long tentacle wrapped around her torso, chest   
and arms. More tentacles came out of the cavernous log and wrapped around her.  
  
"NO! STOP! GET AWAY!" she screamed. There was no escape. Her arms   
were firmly pinned to her sides.  
  
Suddenly, the tentacles stopped moving.   
  
"Well, what's it going to be, dear girl?" she heard a clipped accent from   
the mouth of the cave. "Do you want me to help you or get away from you?"  
  
"Don't give me that!" Naga cried. "I've heard about tentacle monsters   
and what they do to innocent, young girls that happen to wander by!"  
  
"Oh, bloody wonderful!" she heard the exasperated voice say from the   
cave. "*ONE* of us gets drunk and gets a little grabby with a barmaid, and all   
of sudden, we're stereotyped as rape crazy monsters!"  
  
Naga blinked.  
  
"Now then, lass, would you like me to pull you out of that mud or would   
you prefer to sink?"  
  
"Well," Naga said in thought, "Given the options, I guess I'd rather be   
saved."  
  
"There! See?!" the voice cried. "That wasn't so hard, now, was it?!"  
  
The tentacles pulled her out of the mud and deposited her on firmer ground   
near the cave's entrance.   
  
"Thanks...I guess," Naga said, unsure of herself.  
  
"You're quite welcome, I assure you!" the monster in the cave replied.   
"Now then, how about you come in and have a spot of tea?"  
  
"Er...I'm in kind of a hurry..." Naga explained. "Could you tell me   
where I am, exactly?"  
  
"Of course!" came the answer from the cave. "You're in a place the elves   
call 'Zathras Dar,' it just means, 'Sticky Swamp,' in their ancient language. I   
call it home."  
  
"Yes, I'm sure..." She blinked. "Wait, did you say 'elves?'"  
  
"That's right."  
  
"So, I'm on Zarak Tor, then?"  
  
"Quite right, quite right."  
  
Naga looked from side to side. "Somehow I was expecting more."  
  
"Yes, well, I don't suppose tourists such as yourself would consider this   
part worth seeing," came the tentacle monster's stiff reply.  
  
"Well excuse me!" Naga retorted. "I'm not fond of swamps!"  
  
"Hmmph! Jolly good for you then. Just head north." A tentacle came up   
and pointed in one direction to Naga's right. "You'll come to a road. Turn   
left and follow it to the 'garden spot' of Zarak Tor. The elves live there."  
  
Naga grinned. "Thanks!"  
  
"Sure you won't have a spot of tea with me?" the tentacle monster asked.   
"I could put on some soft music, light a few candles, and we could....get to   
know one another bett...Hey! Come back!"  
  
"OOOOOHOHOHOHOHO!!!" Naga laughed as she ran north.  
  
  
  
The man in black took her arm and dragged Sylphiel to her feet, placing   
the tip of his sword at her throat. She felt his other hand begin to roam up   
and down her body.  
  
"Wh...What are you doing?!" Sylphiel asked fearfully.  
  
"Give it to me!" he growled. "I WANT IT!"  
  
Sylphiel grabbed his hand and struggled. She cried out as he threw her   
back down into the grass. He reached down and continued to paw at her. A   
second later, he rose with something in his hand...  
  
The original copy of the rudder.   
  
She watched him pocket it and turn back to her. "Get up," he growled.   
"NOW!"  
  
Sylphiel slowly rose to her feet. The man in black threw his dark hood   
back, revealing short blonde hair that did nothing to hide his pointed ears and   
green eyes. She had been right.   
  
He was an elf.  
  
He pointed his sword to her right. "Let's go," he ordered.  
  
"Who are you?" she asked.  
  
He responded by grabbing her arm and shoving her in the direction to which   
he had pointed. "I said start walking, human!"  
  
The shrine maiden obeyed, walking down an overgrown path she hadn't   
noticed before. "You're the one from the ship," she commented. "And Inverse.   
The one who attacked Zelgadis."  
  
"I was on the ship," he told her. "The one in town was my brother."  
  
"Who are you?" she asked again.  
  
"A guardian of the great secret," he told her. "You should have stayed   
away."  
  
"Why? EEK!"  
  
This last part was said as he poked her in the rear with his sword to get   
her to go faster.  
  
"I've done nothing wrong," she told him.  
  
"YOU LED THEM HERE!" he howled at her. Sylphiel froze where she stood   
fearfully. He walked around her until he was face to face with her. He grabbed   
her by the throat and began to squeeze. Sylphiel gasped for breath and looked   
into his hate-filled eyes. "You led that Mazoku here," he breathed in contempt.   
"Now they'll come and destroy all of us!"  
  
Sylphiel continued to pleade with her eyes for air.  
  
"And where the Mazoku go, the Shinzoku are sure to follow!" He threw her   
down again.  
  
"You're..." Sylphiel rasped, rubbing her sore throat with her hand as she   
lay there. "You're afraid...the Wind Dragon King...will return...to finish what   
he started..."  
  
He crouched next to her and glared at her. "Four hundred years ago, my   
brother decided to go see what was out there. So he, my older brother, and I   
left in a boat. Before we could land, there was a storm, and my brother was   
killed. My other brother and I, unable to return without our younger brother's   
rudder, explored your continent. Do you know what we found?"  
  
Sylphiel only shook her head.  
  
"We found a continent that was *constantly* at war with itself!" he   
hissed. "My people have lived in peace for the last thousand years, alone,   
isolated on this little paradise. A paradise where magic such as yours can't   
corrupt us! It was then that my brother and I decided to protect Zarak Tor   
forever."  
  
"Your brother?" Sylphiel whispered. "But that was four...No...You're an   
elf. Elves live for hundreds of years." She looked up at him. "You've been   
waiting all this time?"  
  
He nodded, then reached down and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her to   
her feet again. Sylphiel cried out in pain. He shoved her forward and told her   
to get moving again. "We have to find your friends," he growled.  
  
Sylphiel began to panic. There was only one reason to keep her alive.   
Bait for Zelgadis and the others. She had to get away.  
  
Suddenly, the earth beneath her began to move. She fell forward onto her   
hands and knees. It was then that she felt it. The scepter her father had   
given her. She had brought it along just in case. Its magical properties   
wouldn't work here, but perhaps...  
  
She slumped forward and moaned.  
  
"Get up, human," the elf growled. "It's just an aftershock. We've had   
them for hundreds of years. Get up."   
  
Sylphiel didn't move. Her hand tightened around the scepter.  
  
He reached down and grabbed her by the shoulder. "I said get..."  
  
Sylphiel cried out and swung the scepter around, striking the elf in the   
temple with it. He cried out and stumbled backwards. Sylphiel got up and began   
to dash off.  
  
The elf growled and started after her. "GET BACK HERE!"  
  
Sylphiel didn't pause for a second. She ran. She could hear him crashing   
through the forest behind her in pursuit. She didn't look back. She began to   
pant from exertion. She couldn't run forever.  
  
She crashed through some brush and hit someone. She screamed and brought   
the scepter up to fight, swinging it indescriminately.  
  
A hand reached up and caught the orb on the end of the wand as casually as   
if he was catching a ball. "It's a pleasure to see you again too," Xellos   
greeted her.  
  
Sylphiel looked up and saw the trickster priest smiling at her. She ran   
forward and hugged him. Xellos blinked down at her.  
  
"And now to the other extreme," he commented.  
  
Sylphiel turned around. "He's right behind me," she warned him.  
  
"Er...Who?"  
  
"An elf," she panted, tired from her escape. "The one on the ship."  
  
"Hmmmm..." Xellos mused, stepping in front of her and holding his staff   
out.   
  
They waited for several minutes, but her pursuer never revealed himself.   
  
"It looks like I scared him off!" Xellos announced, smiling.  
  
"I don't think so," Sylphiel breathed. "Have you seen the others?"  
  
"Um...I thought I saw Achi briefly, but it turned out to just be a snake."  
  
"Zelgadis is around here somewhere too," Sylphiel told him. She noticed   
Xellos looking intently at her and remembered her face. She turned her head   
away and bit her lip.  
  
Xellos only nodded. "I wouldn't discount our dear White Serpent either,"   
he told her. "Now then, which way shall we go?"   
  
Sylphiel pointed in the direction the elf had been force marching her.   
"I'm not sure what's down that direction, but he seemed to be in a hurry to get   
there."  
  
"Then let's go see what the fuss is, shall we?" Xellos asked, starting   
down the path. Sylphiel followed and stayed as close as she could to him.  
  
  
  
"So what's it like being a human?" Adara asked him.  
  
Zelgadis sighed. Again with the questions. Since they had started   
walking an hour ago. Adara had been pestering him constantly about the   
continent, about magic, about himself...mostly about himself...  
  
"I'm not sure," he said. "I've only been one for a few hours."  
  
"Oh, right!" she said. "Your curse. So...what's it like being a   
chimera?"  
  
"What's it like being an elf?" he retorted.  
  
"I don't know. It just is."  
  
He nodded. "Kind of like that, only worse."  
  
"Oh," she replied. She stopped suddenly and unslung her bow.  
  
"What is it?" he whispered, staying very still.  
  
She nocked an arrow and didn't answer. She pulled the bowstring back...  
  
A head of purple hair poked out of the underbrush. "Hel...AIII!" She   
screamed as she saw Adara aiming at her and ducked under the bushes again.  
  
Zelgadis put his hand on Adara's arrow. "Achi!" he called out. "It's   
okay. It's me, Zelgadis."  
  
"Mister Zelgadis?!" Achi cried in disbelief. She crawled out of the   
brush and stood up, staring at him. "You...You look great."  
  
"Thanks," he muttered. "Have you seen any of the others? Have you seen   
Sylphiel?"  
  
She shook her head. "I thought I saw Xellos for a moment, but it turned   
to just be some creepy lizard."  
  
He actually smiled at that description. "Well, Sylphiel's around here   
somewhere."  
  
She nodded and hopped up next to them. She curtsied to Adara. "Hi! I'm   
Achi!"  
  
Adara smiled. "I'm Adara Elunsa Kraktowa Amdomiel."  
  
Achi blinked.  
  
"'Adara' is fine."  
  
Achi smiled and gave her the victory sign. She blinked as her gaze   
traveled to Adara's ears. She smiled.  
  
  
  
Xellos' head popped up above the canopy of the tree, a bird's nest seated   
firmly on top of it. "Hmmm," he thought, looking around.  
  
"What do you see?" Sylphiel called out to him from the base of the tree.  
  
"Several trees," he called back, looking around. "There's a rather large   
mountain north of here." He squinted at something near the mountain's base. "I   
can see smoke."  
  
"A fire?"  
  
"They look like cookfires," he called back.   
  
Sylphiel nodded. "Then we should make for those. It could be Zelgadis or   
Naga or maybe more of the elves on this island."  
  
"Given the reception you've already had from the evles, perhaps it'd be   
better to avoid them."  
  
"They might have Zelgadis or Achi," she called back. "And the others   
might head there anyway."  
  
Xellos nimbly hopped down the tree branch by branch until he was standing   
next to her. "Then let's go."  
  
They started walking in the direction of the smoke. There was no talking   
for quite sometime. Sylphiel threw an occasional glance at him. Finally, she   
spoke.  
  
"How did you know?"  
  
He turned his head to her. "Know what?"  
  
"About the glamour. You told me back in Inverse that I had two faces.   
You knew."  
  
He smiled. "It wasn't hard to see."  
  
She bowed her head miserably. "I didn't even know I had one on until I   
woke up in that lagoon."  
  
"I see. You and Zelgadis had more in common than either of you thought."  
  
She said nothing.  
  
"Well, I wouldn't worry," he said. "Once you leave the island, the   
glamour will restore itself. You'll be good as new."  
  
"No, I won't," she whispered. "I'll still be a monster hiding behind a   
fake face."  
  
Xellos blinked, genuinely surprised. He had never heard Sylphiel sound so   
despondent before. He stopped suddenly and blinked. He tossed his staff to   
Sylphiel.   
  
"Miss Sylphiel, would you hold that for me?"  
  
Sylphiel blinked and held the staff. "Of course, but wh..."  
  
*THOCK!*  
  
She shrieked at the arrow that had just imbedded itself in Xellos' staff!   
If she hadn't been holding it, the arrow would have struck her right through her   
face!  
  
"Dammit!" she heard from not far away. "I told you to stop doing that!   
We're looking for people!"  
  
"Zelgadis?" Sylphiel breathed.  
  
"Well, it *sounded* like a duck!" a feminine voice told the chimera.  
  
From up ahead, three people pushed through the brush. One of them was a   
brown-haired man she found familiar.  
  
"Zelgadis!" She rushed forward and hugged him.  
  
"Sylphiel! Are you okay?!" he asked.  
  
"Ah, Mister Zelgadis!" Xellos greeted.  
  
Zelgadis' eye began to twitch. "Hello...Xellos..."  
  
"Achi!" Sylphiel cried, releasing the chimera and hugging the little   
girl.  
  
"Oneechan!"  
  
"Achi!" Xellos cried, holding his arms out, smiling.  
  
Achi glared at him and started looking for a rock.  
  
"Have you seen Miss Naga?" Sylphiel asked.  
  
"No," Zelgadis told her. He found himself staring at the scar on her   
face without realizing it.  
  
"Where did you get that scar, Oneechan?!" Achi asked.  
  
Sylphiel turned red. "It's a very long story. Is everyone okay?"  
  
"We're fine," Achi said.  
  
Xellos offered the end of his staff to Adara. "I believe this arrow is   
yours, Miss..."  
  
"Adara," the young elf replied sheepishly, pulling the arrow from the   
staff. "Thank you."  
  
He then turned to Zelgadis. "My, my," he said. "Zelgadis, you are a   
dish!"  
  
Zelgadis sighed, then smiled a moment later. "Make all the jokes you   
want, Mazoku. I'm cured. I could care less."  
  
"Mazoku?!"  
  
They all turned to find Adara taking a step back. "Adara?" Zelgadis   
asked.  
  
"Mazoku?!" she breathed.   
  
"Er..." Xellos began, arching an eyebrow. "Is there a problem, Miss?"   
He stepped toward her.  
  
Adara shrieked and stumbled backwards away from him, reaching for an arrow   
for her bow. "MAZOKU!!!"  
  
"You have this effect on everyone, I've noticed," Zelgadis told him with   
a grin.  
  
The joke, however, lost some of its humor when an arrow whizzed past the   
chimera and knicked Xellos' shoulder. The trickster priest grimaced in pain and   
brought his staff up. Adara was nocking another arrow.  
  
Sylphiel jumped between them. "Please!" she cried. "Wait!"  
  
Adara drew the bow and aimed anyway, releasing the arrow at Xellos, and   
thus at Sylphiel.  
  
"Sylphiel!"  
  
Zelgadis leapt between them and gasped in shock as the arrow imbedded   
itself in his left shoulder. He hit the ground hard and cried out in pain.  
  
"ZELGADIS!" Sylphiel cried, rushing to him.  
  
"Zelgadis!" Adara echoed, also rushing to him.  
  
Sylphiel rolled him onto his back and examined the wound. Adara dropped   
her bow and knelt next to him.  
  
"Oh, Zelgadis! I'm so sorry!" the elf cried. "Is there anything I can   
do?!" She reached out and stroked his hair.  
  
Zelgadis cried out again in pain as Sylphiel touched the wound with her   
fingertips, seeing how deep the arrow went. "ARRRGHH!! This *HURTS!*" he   
growled out.  
  
"Of course it does," Sylphiel whispered. "Zelgadis, you're human! You   
don't have the skin of a statue to protect you anymore!" She bit her lip and   
tried to remember the elements of basic healing. Even though she would normally   
use magic for such a task, she had been taught how to do without. "That was   
supid of you..." she whispered quietly.  
  
"You're welcome," he gasped painfully.  
  
Sylphiel blushed. "I'm sorry. It's just that..." She gave up. "Hold   
still, Zelgadis. This is going to hurt a great deal."  
  
"Get to it," he grumbled.  
  
"Miss, would you please hold him down?"  
  
Adara nodded.  
  
Sylphiel grasped the arrow with both hands and broke it off near the point   
of entry. Zelgadis screamed in agony.  
  
"There! That wasn't so bad!" Adara said, trying to encourage him.   
Zelgadis gave her a look of disbelief. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked   
him again.  
  
"Yeah," Zelgadis gasped out. "How about not shooting me?"  
  
Adara blushed.  
  
"That's the best I can do until we get him to a real healer," Sylphiel   
said, bandaging the wound with a handkerchief. She helped Zelgadis to his feet.   
"Here, Zelgadis, lean on me."  
  
"No," Adara said, coming around to the other side and taking his other   
arm. "I shot him. I'll help him back to Zara."  
  
"It's really not necessary," Sylphiel said, not releasing Zelgadis. "I   
have him."  
  
"I insist," Adara replied, likewise refusing to let go.  
  
"With both of us pulling him like this, his wound could get worse,"   
Sylphiel told her.  
  
"But I know the way back to town and how to avoid the bumps..."  
  
Zelgadis sweatdropped.  
  
"Yareyare," Xellos commented. "It seems that Zelgadis has a fan club."  
  
"Show her who's boss, Oneechan!" Achi shouted supportively.  
  
As one, both elf girl and human girl let go of Zelgadis as if scalded.   
Unprepared for this, Zelgadis fell to the ground with an "Ack!"  
  
"What do you mean by that?!" Sylphiel asked, blushing.  
  
Adara, however, took it as an opportunity and dived after Zelgadis,   
helping him to his feet again.  
  
"Thank you, both," he said gruffly. "But she shot my shoulder, not my   
legs. I can walk fine." He shrugged Adara off and started back the way they   
had come. "Let's go."  
  
The rest of them followed.  
  
  
  
Graceful, beautiful, elegant...  
  
These were words to describe the Zarak Whooping Crane. Once considered   
one of the most beautiful birds in the entire continent, it soon became   
endangered as poachers killed it for its bright feathers. Now, there were only   
a few like it left in the world.  
  
The crane lifted one leg out of the shallow water and dipped its beek into   
the swamp to drink. It heard a sharp crack behind it, but didn't turn. One   
heard sounds like that in the swamp...  
  
It took more notice a second later when it felt a hand grab its throat and   
pull!  
  
"GOT YA!!!" Naga cried as the bird fluttered its wings, trying to get   
away. The sorceress struggled with the bird, trying to gain control of it. She   
turned and found a stick protruding out of the mud. Grabbing it with one hand,   
and holding the bird with the other, she brought the stick down on its head a   
few times until the bird stopped moving.  
  
"LUCKY!!!" Naga cried. "Roast chicken for lunch!   
OOOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!"  
  
She took the bird back to the small area of actual dry land she had found   
and put it down, returning to her task of creating fire without magic. She   
started to rub two sticks together and grit her teeth.   
  
"This sucks," she muttered. "How do mundane, everyday people do this?"  
  
She stopped as the ground underneath her began to shake just slightly.   
She blinked.  
  
"Another aftershock," she muttered.  
  
Suddenly, the 'dead' crane squawked, got up, and started flying away.  
  
"GET BACK HERE!" Naga cried, lunging after it, but missing by a full   
yard. "FLARE ARROW! FLARE ARROW! DAMMIT!!"  
  
The crane continued to squawk at her as it flew away.  
  
Naga sighed. "Well, it's not as if I had a fire to roast it with anyway,"   
she said dejectedly. She blinked as she smelled something.  
  
Food...  
  
She sniffed. "Roast chicken...no...DUCK!" she exclaimed. She sniffed   
again. "Bread...Corn..." Her mouth began to water. "FOOD!!!" she screamed at   
the sky. "THOU SHALT BE MIIIIIIIINNNNNNNEEEEEE!!!!!!!"  
  
She let her nose lock onto the direction of the smell and took off running   
through the swamp, causing waves to form behind her.  
  
"OOOOOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOO!!!!!"  
  
"OOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!!"  
  
"OOOHOOHOHOHOHOACK!!!!"  
  
Her laughter became a shrill shriek of surprise as the ground suddenly   
fell out from under her and she began to slide into a deep, muddy hole. She   
continued to scream as she slid faster and faster through the mud. Suddenly,   
she saw daylight and she was flying!  
  
*SPLAT!*  
  
Face first into a wet mudhole...  
  
Naga raised an arm and slowly rose to her knees, the entire front of her   
body covered in mud.  
  
"Hey!" someone called.  
  
She looked up and glared at the source of the voice.  
  
"Whatcha do'in in my pig pen?!"  
  
Naga looked to her right and saw that she was three inches from the snout   
of a large sow.  
  
Naga had to think quick. She crawled toward the farmer and kowtowed in   
front of him. "Oh, thank goodness!" she cried, pouring as much of the damsel   
in distress tone into her voice as she could. "Dear Sir, I am lost and have   
spent the entire day wandering a swamp..." She sniffled. "I was attacked by   
tentacle monsters and an evil bird..." She sniffled again. "Please, I beg of   
you, help me!"  
  
The farmer, an elf by his long, pointed ears, blinked down at her. "You   
poor thing! Let's get you inside and get some food in you! You look like   
you're wasting away!"  
  
"THANK YOU, GOOD SIR!" Naga cried. She smiled evilly.  
  
  
  
"Zara, the last city of the Elven race," Adara announced proudly as they   
entered the town. Zelgadis, Sylphiel, and their two immortal companions looked   
about in awe as they walked down the main thoroughfare.  
  
It looked like any other small village at first. A bakery, a smithy, a   
school, a giant wheel with numbers on it...  
  
"What's that?" Achi asked, pointing at the wheel.  
  
"Oh! That's our Wheel of Justice."  
  
"'Wheel of Justice?'" Zelgadis muttered to Sylphiel. "Amelia would love   
it."  
  
Sylphiel smiled tightly. She couldn't bring herself to laugh, though she   
was glad that Zelgadis was actually making jokes. It meant he was feeling more   
human. Now that he had found his cure, she knew he had a lot of catching up to   
do.  
  
Adara led them to a small cottage on the other side of town and let them   
inside. "My father and I live here. You're welcome to stay as long as you   
like."  
  
The cottage was so normal-looking it was hard to remember that Adara and   
her people were a thousand years out of the mainstream and an entirely different   
race.   
  
"Please, Zelgadis, you should lie down," Adara told him, leading him to   
the bedroom in the back.   
  
Sylphiel followed, reaching out to support him.  
  
"It's okay," Adara told her. "I can handle it."  
  
"I should look after him," the shrine maiden replied. "I've known him   
longer, and I happen to be trained as a healer priestess."  
  
Adara made another polite argument, which Sylphiel countered. Zelgadis   
stood there and sighed.  
  
Achi and Xellos watched this go back and forth for awhile. "Oh, this is   
pathetic..."   
  
Xellos sighed. "Yes, it certainly is." They both suddenly remembered who   
they were speaking to and glared at one another.  
  
"Excuse me," Zelgadis said, walking into the bedroom and shutting the door   
behind him.  
  
Sylphiel and Adara blinked after him for a few moments. "Excuse me, Miss   
Sylphiel," Adara began sweetly. "Perhaps there's been a cross cultural   
miscommunication, but in *my* society, a girl knows when to butt out when   
another one is making her move..."  
  
Sylphiel turned red. "Her move?"  
  
"He's not married, is he?"  
  
"Well...no..."  
  
Adara smiled. "Thank you." She turned to enter the bedroom.  
  
"Just a moment!" Sylphiel cried. "He needs rest!" she said, blocking   
the door.  
  
The elf woman frowned. "I'm going to let him rest. I thought he'd like a   
blanket...or some tea....or for a beautiful elf huntress to read him a story..."  
  
"He's *injured!*" Sylphiel cried in astonishment at the elf's behavior.  
  
"Ooh! Good idea! I'll go get some salve for his shoulder!" Adara turned   
again.   
  
Sylphiel actually reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her. "Look   
here! He needs rest!"  
  
Adara's eyes narrowed. "I see," she said quietly. "Do you honestly think   
you're any competition for me?"  
  
"C...competition?" Sylphiel asked, blushing.  
  
Achi and Xellos continued to observe. "Perhaps we should do   
something...diffuse the situation..." Xellos suggested.  
  
In response, Achi cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "KICK HER   
ASS, ONEECHAN!"  
  
"Kick my ass, huh?!" Adara asked.  
  
The door opened. They all turned to see Zelgadis there, an irritated look   
on his face. "If it's okay with you...I'd like to sleep."  
  
The two women looked down at the floor and nodded in embarrassment.   
Zelgadis shut the door again.   
  
Adara glared at Sylphiel. "See what you did?" she whispered harshly.   
"You woke him up!"  
  
"Me?!" Sylphiel whispered back. "You're the one who didn't want to let   
him sleep to begin with."  
  
"Yareyare," Xellos sighed.   
  
  
  
Zelgadis gasped in pain as he laid down on the bed. His shoulder hurt   
more than at any time he could remember.   
  
(Well, you wanted to be cured,) he reminded himself.  
  
He smiled. It was well worth it. His smile disappeared as he heard   
Sylphiel and Adara in the next room, still arguing. He groaned.  
  
As if it made a big difference as to who was the most helpful... He could   
understand that it was getting on Sylphiel's nerves, maybe. She was used to   
being the healer and not having her methods questioned. As for Adara, he had   
heard about being friendly, but this was ridiculous...  
  
He blinked as a new thought entered his head. Something Eris had once   
told him...  
  
  
  
Eris, wearing an alluring night gown and holding a tray laden with a   
kettle and two tea cups, started up the stairs. From the top of these stairs, a   
lone chimera watched, not really caring.   
  
The sorceress didn't even give him a second glance as she walked by. She   
had more important things on her mind than some worthless little creature.  
  
"You know," Zelgadis commented, "He's already agreed to teach you. You   
don't have to keep sucking up to him like this."  
  
Eris stopped suddenly and turned. "I am *not* sucking up, chimera," she   
told him. "I happen to think that my Lord Rezo would like some tea while he   
studies."  
  
"Then why two cups?" Zelgadis asked. "What makes you think spending time   
with him will make him any more eager to teach you any faster?"  
  
"Hmmph!" Eris sniffed. "You just don't get it, do you, chimera? I   
shouldn't expect you to." She turned and started towards Rezo's study again.   
She threw one last comment over her shoulder. "Womanly affections are lost on   
you, and would be totally wasted."  
  
Zelgadis snorted and turned to a window...  
  
  
  
Zelgadis blinked as this memory came back to him.   
  
"No way," he whispered to himself.  
  
Adara...and *SYLPHIEL*...competing....over *HIM*?!  
  
He laughed suddenly and closed his eyes to sleep.   
  
(Sure, Zelgadis Greywords,) he thought. (Suddenly you become human and   
every girl around is after you. Adara falls for you after knowing you for ten   
minutes, and Sylphiel gives up Gourry for your new pretty face.)  
  
He shook his head.  
  
It was rather stupid...  
  
  
  
Naga walked down the road, patting her stomach with one hand and picking   
at her teeth with a toothpick with the other. Sure, the farmer was a little mad   
that she had cleared out his pantry, and maybe he'd have a hard time feeding   
himself through winter...  
  
But *Naga* was full, and that's all that really mattered right now.  
  
Following the farmer's instructions, she soon found herself on the   
outskirts of Zara. She tossed the toothpick away and began to ask herself   
several key questions.  
  
Fist of all, were the others here?  
  
Next, where was she going to get food and lodging?  
  
Third, how would she pay for said food and lodging?  
  
Fourth, what the hell was with that giant wheel in the center of town?  
  
She asked herself these questions as she wandered through the elf hamlet.   
She was passing by a small cottage when she stopped suddenly at the sound of   
someone's voice.  
  
"KICK HER ASS, ONEECHAN!"  
  
Naga blinked. That sounded like Achi.   
  
She walked up to the cottage and knocked on the door. She could hear an   
argument going on inside, an argument which paused as she heard footsteps   
approaching the door.  
  
A tall, blonde, shapely elf opened the door and blinked at her.  
  
"Hello, there, child," Naga began. "I'm looking for some friends of   
mine. A man made of stone and a beautiful young woman. Also...I don't know   
them or anything, but a cute, charming, young girl and a perverted priest."  
  
Adara shook her head. "Nope, sorry."  
  
"She means us!" she heard Achi cry. "I'm the cute, charming young girl,   
dammit!"  
  
"Achi! Watch your language!" Sylphiel chastised her.  
  
"OOOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!" Naga laughed. "So you all made it! Where's   
Zelgadis?" she asked, pushing her way inside.  
  
"Great," Adara mutterd. "Another human woman..."  
  
"He's sleeping," Sylphiel told the sorceress. "Are you okay? We were   
worried."  
  
Naga waved off the concern. "Child, when you've been around as long as I   
have, nothing really fazes you." She looked over at Adara. "Who's the blonde?"  
  
"Adara," the elf girl said evenly. "I live here."  
  
"How quaint," Naga commented, sitting down at the kitchen table. She   
blinked as she noticed Sylphiel's face for the fist time. "Child, are you all   
right?!" she asked.  
  
Sylphiel blinked in puzzlement. Naga pointed at her face. Sylphiel's   
hand covered it, and she looked away. She had forgotten about that.   
"It's...it's nothing..."  
  
"Nothing, hell!" Naga told her, getting up again. "Have you seen a   
healer yet? How did it happen?"  
  
"I said I'm all right!" Sylphiel snapped at her. Naga took a step back   
and blinked. The shrine maiden sighed dejectedly. "It's an old scar. I'm   
sorry," she said quietly.  
  
"Well, since you're all here, perhaps you can explain to me what you're   
doing here?" Adara asked, sitting down. "It's not every day we see humans out   
here. And Zelgadis wasn't exactly talkative before."  
  
Sylphiel sat down across from her and began their story from the   
beginning.  
  
  
  
"How does it feel?" Adara asked as the healer placed the bloody arrowhead   
in a waste bucket.  
  
Zelgadis moved his arm around a bit, experiencing some pain, but he had   
known worse. The bandages around his shoulder had been treated with a salve   
that would accelerate the healing process.  
  
"It feels good," he said without preamble. He sat on the bed for a moment   
and thought about his next step. As he slept, he had gone over his situation.   
Sure, he was cured, but from what he had heard, as soon as he left the island,   
he'd go back to being a chimera.   
  
Unacceptable.  
  
That meant he'd have to stay on the island.  
  
Also unacceptable. He hadn't searched the entire world for a cure just to   
end up imprisoned on some rock.  
  
So he had to find what was keeping him human....and take it with him.  
  
He smiled tightly.   
  
"Adara," he began, "What can you tell me about the weapon keeping magic   
from working on this island?"  
  
The elf blinked. "Huh?"  
  
"The weapon your people created," Zelgadis prompted.  
  
She stared at him dumbfounded. "I have no idea what you're talking   
about," she told him.  
  
"I believe, young man," the healer broke in, "You are referring to the   
holy mountain."  
  
"Holy mountain?" he asked.  
  
The healer nodded. "A thousand years ago, there was the Great Cataclysm,   
a storm of wind and fire unleashed by the Wind Dragon. Some of us, mere   
children, were rushed into caves nearby as it raged. I remember that time.   
There were only sixty of us and an old priest there. We could hear the   
screaming outside, hear the thunder. I asked the priest what was happening, but   
in his fright he would only say that the Mountain would protect us."  
  
"The mountain," Zelgadis repeated quietly. He threw a look out the   
window at the mountain to the north.  
  
"When the storm passed, we looked out and found we were the only ones   
left. The priest took care of us as best he could, and always taught us that   
the Mountain was holy and had saved us."  
  
"So...the weapon is on the mountain," Zelgadis concluded. "Thank you,   
Healer." He started for the door.  
  
"Wait, young man!" the healer cried. "Do not do what I believe you're   
planning! The mountain is holy! Only the priests go there!"  
  
"If the cure for my curse is on that mountain, then I'm going up there   
after it."   
  
Almost as anger at this statement, the island moved under them in another   
aftershock.  
  
Zelgadis ignored it and walked out the door.  
  
  
  
Achi looked around the corner and watched Zelgadis start down the road.   
He was the one to watch now, she knew. He was the only one besides herself and   
Xellos with a vested interest in finding the weapon. She turned the corner and   
started after him...  
  
Only to bump into a man in a black cloak.  
  
She scowled up at Xellos. "Don't you have something better to do?" she   
hissed.  
  
"I'm afraid not," the trickster priest told her.   
  
"Xellos," she said dangerously, "Get out of my way, or you'll be sorry."  
  
Xellos smiled. "Oh? How so? You're without your powers and in the body   
of a child."  
  
Achi hmmphed. She reached down and grabbed a handful of dirt. Xellos   
tensed slightly, remembering the sand she had thrown in his eyes, but instead of   
throwing it at him, she rubbed it into her dress. She then reached down and   
tore her skirt. Then, she threw herself on the ground and began to cry as loud   
as she could.  
  
Xellos blinked in puzzlement.  
  
"Please!" Achi cried at him. "Please don't hit me again, Mister Xellos!   
Please! I'm sorry!"  
  
Xellos' eye began to twitch. He suddenly felt very cold....  
  
"MISTER XELLOS!"  
  
He laughed nervously and turned to find Sylphiel standing there in shock.   
She rushed forward and picked Achi up. The tiny Shinzoku sniffled and hugged   
the shrine maiden, burying her face in her cloak.  
  
"Oneechan! I was so scared! He said...he said I had been bad...and...and   
that he was going to beat me...and..."  
  
"Shhhh!" Sylphiel hissed in her ear. "It's okay, Achi chan." She threw   
an angry look at Xellos. "Hmmph!" With that, she walked away.   
  
"Oneechan...can...can we go with Mister Zelgadis to see the mountain?"  
  
"Of course we can, Achi chan..." Xellos heard as they walked off.  
  
Xellos stood there dumbfounded. "Hmmm..." he intoned. "It appears I've   
neglected to factor in the 'Kawaii Quotient...'" He turned as he heard a yawn   
from the cabin door. Naga was walking out, scratching her stomach after a long   
nap. "Ah! Miss Naga!"  
  
"Xellos," she said in greeting, stifling another yawn. "Where are the   
others?"  
  
"They said something about a mountain and...treasure...if I'm not   
mistaken..."  
  
Naga's eyes went wide. "What was that last part?!"  
  
"Well, yes. They all left. I think they intend to find something   
heavy...and a lot of it...they brought sacks, shovels, wheelbarrows..."  
  
"Are you sure?!" Naga cried, leaping down from the porch and taking   
Xellos by the front of his shirt.  
  
"I think so," Xellos said slowly. "Then again, my poor eyes get   
tired...I might be mistaken...By the way, Miss Naga, if you were to move an   
entire mountain of gold, would you only bring one wheel barrow?"  
  
Before he could say another word, Naga was running, dragging Xellos with   
her.   
  
"Ah," Xellos sighed as they flew down the road at near lightspeed. "The   
only way to fly."  
  
  
  
Zelgadis put the astrolabe down and frowned. "Well that explains the   
aftershocks," he muttered.  
  
"What do you mean?" Sylphiel asked.  
  
He put the navigational tool away and knelt down. The three of them were   
standing on a cliff about a quarter way up the mountain. Using his finger,   
Zelgadis drew a map in the dirt. "This is the continent," he said, pointing to   
the blob he just drew. "And this is the island." He made a circular mark above   
the blob. "When I was with Rezo, he taught me about many subjects, including   
navigation on the water. When you leave the shore, for awhile, the water isn't   
very deep. Then, suddenly, the depth increases. The shallow part is called the   
'continental shelf,' it's exactly what it sounds like, a shelf upon which the   
land sits."  
  
"Okay," Sylphiel said, following along. Achi was busy picking flowers   
nearby, straining to hear.  
  
"The shelf ends at a certain latitude." He drew a line parallel to the   
continent's shore, right through the dot representing the island. "*This*   
latitude," he said. "This island is right on the edge of the shelf."  
  
Sylphiel blinked. "So what does this mean?"  
  
"Imagine you have a plate of food," Zelgadis demonstrated, "And you put   
that plate on the very edge of the table, half on, half off."  
  
Sylphiel nodded.  
  
"Now imagine what would happen if someone bumped into that table."  
  
The shrine maiden took an indrawn hiss of breath. "And that could happen   
here?"  
  
"It's already happening," Zelgadis told her. "When the island was moved   
here, it was simply dropped. Erosion, an earthquake...and this place is going   
to fall off the shelf and sink into the ocean."  
  
"What do we do?!" Sylphiel asked.  
  
"We find the weapon and get off this rock before that happens," Zelgadis   
told her, rising to his feet.  
  
"What about the people here!?"   
  
"We'll warn them when we get back."  
  
"But..."  
  
"Sylphiel, if it hasn't happened in a thousand years, I doubt it'll happen   
today."  
  
She took a breath and nodded.   
  
"Let's keep going."  
  
  
  
Despite the argument that no one was allowed on the holy mountain, the   
path the three of them took seemed well cared for and clear. Zelgadis,   
Sylphiel, and Achi had no problem whatsoever working their way higher up the   
mountain. Achi was paying very close attention to everything she passed,   
inspecting it closely. Sylphiel simply chalked this up to her being a curious   
little girl, and didn't suspect that the girl was in fact looking for the exact   
same thing they were.  
  
"Look at this," Zelgadis told her, pointing out a crevice in the   
mountain's face. The path led right through it.   
  
"LIGHTING!" Sylphiel called out, holding her hand in front of her.   
  
Nothing.  
  
She blushed. "Forgot that doesn't work," she said sheepishly.  
  
Zelgadis found a dead branch from a nearby tree and tore some of the white   
material from his cape. Wrapping it around one end of the branch several times,   
he sat down and began to use a small flint box to start a fire. Soon the torch   
was providing enough light for them to enter the crevice.   
  
It turned out they didn't have to go very far before the cave opened up   
again into a small clearing.  
  
"Wow!" Achi cried, looking up. They were in the center of the mountain,   
the sky could be seen above them. It was like they were standing on the bottom   
of a large bowl made by the mountain. Inside this bowl was a garden made up of   
several trees, plants, and even a spring. Clear water bubbled up from seemingly   
nowhere and flowed into a small stream through the middle of the garden.  
  
"It's beautiful," Sylphiel remarked.  
  
Zelgadis took a look around and sighed. There was nothing here except   
plants. No ruins, no artifacts, no weapons.  
  
And there was no other path leading anywhere else.  
  
"Nothing," he whispered. "There's nothing here."  
  
Sylphiel wasn't paying attention. She was looking at one of the trees. A   
pink, round fruit was hanging from their branches. "I've never seen a fruit   
like this before," she commented. She saw Achi pick one up from the ground and   
inspect it. "Achi chan, don't eat it. It could be poisonous."  
  
"It looks okay, Oneechan," Achi said absently. Even so, she didn't bite   
into the fruit and instead pocketed it in the folds of her dress.  
  
"Look at these flowers!" Sylphiel called out, kneeling down over a rather   
large bouquet of wildflowers.   
  
Zelgadis, meanwhile, was checking the walls of the cavern, searching for a   
secret entrance. "I don't get it," he said to himself, shaking his head.   
"Where's this incredible weapon I kept hearing about?"  
  
"Perhaps it's underground and we just missed the entrance," Sylphiel   
suggested, gathering up a bunch of flowers in her arms.  
  
"Maybe," Zelgadis muttered, not sure if he believed it or not.  
  
He was shaken from his thoughts when Sylphiel ran up to him suddenly and   
put a flower in his hair. "In the meantime, let's take a rest and have lunch,"   
she suggested. "We'll think of something." She smiled broadly at him.  
  
Zelgadis blinked at her. This was certainly a change. All of a sudden,   
it seemed that Sylphiel's melancholy over her face was gone.  
  
"Oneechan, can I go explore?" Achi asked. "I promise I won't go far."  
  
Sylphiel thought for a moment, then smiled and threw a look at Zelgadis.   
"Go ahead, Achi chan. But don't wander too far, okay?"  
  
"Okay, Oneechan!" Achi cried as she ran off to another part of the   
garden.  
  
The shrine maiden took another deep breath, inhaling the scent of the   
flowers in her arms. "Isn't this place heaven, Zelgadis?" she asked. "I've   
never seen anywhere so beautiful in all my life!"  
  
Zelgadis was still checking the wall with his hands. Suddenly, she   
grabbed his arm.   
  
"Come on! Time for lunch!" She dragged him to a small, grassy hill and   
sat him down.   
  
"Sylphiel," he began, "We shouldn't waste any time..."  
  
"Then eat," she said, rooting through her pack for the lunches she had   
made this morning. She handed him one and took one for herself. "I wish I knew   
if these fruits were edible. I'll take some back with us and ask Adara. Maybe   
they'd make a good pie."  
  
"Listen to you," he remarked. "Yesterday you were moping around, and   
today you're talking about pies."  
  
"I don't know why," she said, "But this place feels...I don't   
know...good."  
  
"Heh," he commented as he ate.   
  
  
  
Achi looked up at the sky before looking around at the garden. This had   
to be a cover or something. The elves *did* have a weapon. They built it here.   
She knew it.   
  
So where was it?  
  
She kicked a stone and growled in frustration. "You'd think they'd leave   
a manual or something..." she muttered. She looked down at the rock she had   
kicked and blinked.   
  
It was shiny.  
  
She knelt down and picked it up. It wasn't quite gold or silver. It   
looked more like...  
  
She smiled.  
  
"Orihalcon..."  
  
  
  
Zelgadis sighed. It was finally within his grasp. All he had to do was   
find it somewhere on this mountain. He laid back on the grass and looked up at   
the sky. It was odd, but as a chimera he had never felt the desire to just lay   
back and look at the clouds. He knew Lina and Amelia were fond of it, and were   
often annoyed with him for being annoyed whenever they did it.  
  
Now he found it relaxing.   
  
"I never had time before," he muttered.  
  
"Hmmm?" he heard Sylphiel inquire, lying next to him.  
  
"To stare at the sky," he told her. "I always had some new clue to   
investigate or an artifact to find."  
  
"I see," she said.  
  
"Sylphiel, why did you really come with me to this place?"  
  
She said nothing for a good minute, then began. "When I was thirteen, the   
shrine at Sairaag caught fire. I was trying to save the scrolls from the   
flames...and...A beam fell on me."  
  
Zelgadis said nothing.  
  
"When I woke up, I found out that my face had been scarred. The healing   
spell saved my life, but healing spells only accelerate healing. They don't   
take the wound away. I was a thirteen year old girl with a scar that looked   
like it had been there for years. At first...at first I tried to dismiss it as   
unimportant. It didn't matter what was on the outside, as long as I was a good   
person on the inside."  
  
He turned his head to her and saw a lone tear making its way down her   
cheek as she continued.  
  
"Even so...every time I stepped outside, people would...turn away...or   
worse...they'd stare. Children were afraid of me. My friends didn't know how   
to treat me. And I..." She closed her eyes.  
  
"You don't have to finish, Sylphiel," he said quietly.  
  
She ignored him. "My father brought a friend home one day and told me   
that this man had perfected a kind of healing spell that would remove scars.   
They put me to sleep and when I woke up, I had my face back." She wiped the   
tear away. "I didn't want a glamour spell," she told him. "They...they were   
like masks and had a bad tendency to fail. I didn't want a mask, I wanted *me*   
back to the way I *was*."  
  
"I recognized your story the moment I met you, Zelgadis," she told him   
softly. "Remember the rudder?" she asked. He nodded. "When I woke up after   
the fire...I found out that that was the only scroll I was able to save. It had   
fallen under me. My own body had protected it from the flames. I knew right   
then that there was a *reason* for my scar, a reason that that scroll was saved   
while the others perished."  
  
She turned to him. "I knew I had a role to play," she whispered.  
  
Zelgadis didn't know what to say. Sylphiel looked at him, into him.   
That's when he realized it. She had never looked *at* him. Never at his stone   
face or chimeral body. She had always looked *into* him. Into his soul.   
  
She knew.  
  
She knew what it was like to be seen, not as a normal human being, but as   
something different.  
  
She was the same.  
  
The same as him.  
  
He slowly leaned toward her, closer to the face he knew was beautiful   
despite the outward appearance...  
  
Something hit the ground nearby.  
  
They both seemed to wake up from the moment and looked up at the crevice   
that served as the entrance to the garden.   
  
A lone elf stood there, wearing a brown robe. A bucket she had dropped   
had made the noise. She turned and ran back through the crevice.  
  
"Wait!" Zelgadis cried, hopping up and running after her. he ran through   
the crevice, but when he came out on the other side, the elf was out of sight.   
Without his chimera speed, there was no way he was going to catch up with her.   
"Dammit!"  
  
He turned and found Sylphiel standing at the entrance. She blushed and   
turned away from him, walking back into the garden.   
  
Zelgadis wasn't sure which irked him more. Losing a lead about the garden   
and the weapon, or being interrupted at just the wrong time.  
  
  
  
Naga swung the stick again and screamed as the bear swiped it out of her   
hands. She backed up as the bear roared at her angrily.   
  
"Well, now what?!" she hissed at Xellos, who was examining something in a   
bush not far away, almost oblivious to the battle going on at the entrance to   
the bear's cave, a cave Naga had decided looked like a good place for someone to   
hide treasure.  
  
"Hmmm..." Xellos thought. He poked the shrub with his staff and looked   
up at her. "I'm working on it. Just play with him for a bit."  
  
"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!"   
the bear chimed in.  
  
"ARE YOU STUPID!?" Naga screamed at him. Xellos didn't reply. She bent   
down and picked up a stick. "See the stick?" she asked the bear. "Go get it!"   
she cried, throwing the stick down the path.   
  
The bear was not amused...  
  
Naga hmmph'd and drew her sword, posing dramatically. "NATURE WILL   
COEXIST WITH ME, OR BY MY SWORD IT SHALL BE EXTINGUISHED!!!   
OOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!"  
  
"Now I see who Amelia takes after," Xellos commented, reaching into the   
bush.  
  
The bear was not impressed....  
  
Xellos reached over and pulled a hair from Naga's head.  
  
"OW! DAMN! What did you do that for?!"  
  
"You're not distracting him," Xellos chastised her as he worked on   
something out of her view.  
  
Naga turned back to the bear and saw it moving closer. She held her sword   
out. "Begone! In the name of Naga the White Serpent!"  
  
The bear rose up on its haunches, towering over Naga.  
  
"Then again," Naga said, sweating, "It *is* your cave...and...it was very   
very wrong of me to...go into it...And I'm sorry..."  
  
The bear roared and began to lunge at her!  
  
Naga cried out and covered her eyes.  
  
Nothing.  
  
She opened her eyes and found that the bear was enthralled by something   
that had appeared between them. A honey-filled bee's nest was hanging from the   
end of a long strand of dark hair which was connected to the end of of Xellos   
staff.  
  
"Good bear," Xellos said with a smile from behind Naga. "Nice bear.   
*Hungry* bear..." He moved the bee's nest to one side, watching as the bear   
followed, licking its jowels.   
  
Xellos gave the nest a few swings. The hair strand snapped, and the nest   
went flying down the path. The bear went after it.  
  
"Ah, don't you love nature, Miss Naga?" Xellos asked. He turned back to   
her. "Miss Naga?"  
  
Naga was as white as a sheet, her eyes still wide in shock, and her body   
still braced for death.  
  
"Yareyare," Xellos commented, his hand going to his head. Before he   
could do anything for the sorceress, an elf woman in a brown robe went running   
past them down the mountain.  
  
"Hmmm," he said in thought. "I guess she had problems with bears too..."  
  
  
  
The sun was just starting to go down by the time the three of them were   
off the mountain and walking back towards town. Achi skipped out in front,   
smiling. Zelgadis and Sylphiel walked side by side but seemed to go to great   
lengths to avoid looking at one another.  
  
"Well," Zelgadis said, scratching the back of his head. "I guess I'll try   
again tomorrow."  
  
Sylphiel nodded. "Yes....That...that would be a good idea."  
  
"About what happened," they both said at the same time, facing one   
another.  
  
"You first," Zelgadis prompted.  
  
"No, please, you," Sylphiel countered.  
  
They looked away from each other again.  
  
The former chimera took a breath. "It was not my intent to insult you,"   
he said, some of his old gruffness coming back into his voice.   
  
Sylphiel looked up at him, stunned.  
  
"I...apologize," he said finally.  
  
"There's nothing to apologize for," she told him sincerely.  
  
"I'll go back up the mountain tomorrow," he said, walking away. "Alone.   
I'll make better time that way."  
  
"I...I see," Sylphiel said dejectedly.  
  
Zelgadis paused. "Sylphiel, I..." He seemed to want to say more, but   
instead started walking again.  
  
Sylphiel watched him. "Zelgadis....dear," she whispered. She sighed and   
started after him.  
  
Before long, they were back at Adara's house.  
  
"Zelgadis!" Adara cried, hopping off the porch and rushing up to him.   
Zelgadis paused as she reached out and grabbed his hand. "You shouldn't stay   
out so long! You're still injured! Come inside and have some dinner."  
  
Sylphiel watched this and fought down the bile rising in her throat. What   
right did Adara have to be cooking for Zelgadis dear? She hadn't been the one   
to travel with him, or brave the dangers of this quest with him.  
  
"HALT!"  
  
They all turned to the sound of several men on horseback. Leading them on   
foot was the same elf woman they had seen on the mountain. She pointed to   
Zelgadis.  
  
"That's him! That's the one who broke the sanctity of the mountain!"  
  
Zelgadis turned to them, his hand dropping to his sword. "What's this   
about?" he asked.  
  
"You, stranger," one of the horsemen, who appeared to be in charge, began,   
"You went up to the mountain?"  
  
"What of it?" Zelgadis asked, his eyes narrowing.  
  
"You're under arrest, son. Drop your sword belt and come with us."  
  
"Like Hell!" Zelgadis cried.  
  
"What did Zelgadis do wrong!?" Sylphiel asked the men, coming to the   
chimera's defense.  
  
"He was there!" the elf woman cried. "In the holy place where only the   
priests may go! He sullied our most holy place!"  
  
"Come quiet, son," the horsemen ordered. "We have laws here. You'll go   
to trial, but I guarantee it'll be fair. You wanna fight, well then, you'll   
have to fight us all..."  
  
Zelgadis growled. There were five of them and only one of him, and he was   
without his magic to boot. If Naga...or damn, even Xellos were here, he might   
think about taking them on, but Sylphiel didn't know the first thing about   
fighting, and he wasn't about to let her or Achi be hurt in the scuffle.   
  
He unclasped his swordbelt and let the weapon fall to the ground.  
  
"Zelgadis dear!" Sylphiel cried.  
  
Two of the horsemen dismounted and approached him, putting his wrists in   
manacles. "Go find Xellos and Naga," he told the shrine maiden. "As much as I   
dislike him, he might actually have a way to get me out of this."  
  
Sylphiel nodded in agreement.  
  
"Zelgadis!" Adara cried. "I'll wait for you!"  
  
Zelgadis sighed. "Great..."  
  
Sylphiel watched as the elves lead Zelgadis away in chains, powerless to   
do anything to stop them. She grit her teeth. If she still had her magic....  
  
(If I still had my magic,) she thought, (Anything Lina could do would   
*pale* in comparison by the time I got through with them...)  
  
"Hang in there, Mister Zelgadis!" Achi cried. "And don't drop the soap!"  
  
Zelgadis sighed again. Right now, he'd welcome prison...  
  
Sylphiel watched them go and turned to Adara. "Quickly! Where are Xellos   
and Naga?!"  
  
Adara blinked and shrugged.  
  
The sorceress bit her lip. (Mister Xellos...Miss Naga...Where are you?   
We need your help...)  
  
  
  
Naga grit her teeth again as Xellos started a new "tune" on that damned   
rectangle thing he had brought with him. She tossed another piece of wood on   
the campfire and tried to endure it as Xellos, sitting with his back to a tree,   
continued to play.  
  
The sound was like...it was hard to describe. It was like...  
  
Jumping up and down on a dead dradora! That was it!  
  
"And this one I call, 'My Darling Dragon,'" Xellos announced, placing his   
lips on the rectangle and blowing into it.  
  
She squeezed her eyes shut. "What...did you call that thing again?" she   
asked, at the end of her rope.  
  
"Oh, this? A 'harmonica.'"  
  
"And...um...how many of those are out there in the world?"  
  
Xellos smiled. "This is the only one. I traded some not-so-magical magic   
beans for it."  
  
"I see..."  
  
He began to play another song. He saw the angry look on Naga's face and   
stopped. He smiled. "Any requests?"  
  
Naga growled. (Eventually, he'll fall asleep...then...WHAM!) "No," she   
bit out. She knew she had to be careful. Xellos, in theory, knew where the   
treasure was, and you never ever tick off the paycheck...  
  
"Oh, well then, I call this next one, 'Oh Filia.'" He began to play   
again, a song that sounded just like the dozen he had played before.  
  
Naga screamed up at the night sky.  
  
  
  
To Be Continued...  
  



	5. On Trial?! The Wheel of Justice!

Slayers is the property of Kadokawa Shoten.  
  
Slayers: Faces  
Chapter 5  
On Trial!?  
The Wheel of Justice!  
  
  
  
Zelgadis took another breath as he lay back on his bunk in his cell.   
There wasn't exactly a whole lot to do sitting in a prison cell.   
  
So he thought.   
  
(Smooth, Zel,) he thought to himself. (Real slick. Did you think they'd   
just let you waltz all over something that important to them?)  
  
He just had to hang tight. Sylphiel, Naga, or Xellos would figure out a   
way to get him out. He just had to be patient.  
  
(Sylphiel...)  
  
What had happened up on that mountain? He had come close to   
actually...kissing her...  
  
When was the last time he had tried kissing a girl? He couldn't remember.   
It had never seemed relevant. It had never been...a priority...before.   
  
And what about her? How did she feel about it? Was she really willing to   
give up 'Gourry dear,' for a chimera?  
  
(Not a chimera, doofus. You're human again, remember?)  
  
He sighed. (A human in a prison cell...)  
  
"Well, well...What's this?" he heard the guard ask from down the hall.  
  
"I brought some food for Zelgadis dear," Sylphiel's voice came from the   
same direction. "Is it okay if I give it to him?"  
  
"Sure thing, little lady. I just have to inspect it."  
  
"Um...Okay..."  
  
Zelgadis listened as the guard inventoried what Sylphiel had brought.   
"Mmmm...Cake...pie....cookies..."  
  
"Yes," Sylphiel replied, almost nervously. "I enjoy cooking."  
  
"Some roast chicken...salad..."  
  
"Yes, you can have some if you like," she told him.  
  
"Pudding...." He broke off. "A chisel..."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Um...That's not mine," Sylphiel said lamely.  
  
Zelgadis sighed. "Yareyare..."  
  
  
  
"Hmmmm," Achi intoned. "She's been gone too long."  
  
Sitting at the kitchen table, her head in her hands, Adara sighed. "I   
knew her plan was awful. I told her so..."  
  
"I don't know," Achi said, her finger going to her lip in thought. "I   
kinda liked the cheesy retro feel of it..."  
  
"But now Zelgadis is still trapped in jail, and I'm sure Sylphiel's gotten   
herself caught and thrown into a cell right next to..." Adara's eyes went wide   
as she gasped in realization. "THAT BITCH!"  
  
Achi rolled her eyes. She didn't need her powers to figure out what Adara   
was thinking.  
  
"That sneaky, two faced, scheming human bitch!" Adara went on, her hands   
balled into fists.   
  
"Will you just relax?!" Achi exclaimed, her hands on her hips. "This   
isn't helping. How about this? I'll go find Xellos and Naga. You stay here   
and... and do whatever it is elves do."  
  
"Like what?!" Adara cried. "My poor, poor Zelgadis is stuck in prison   
with a lecherous shrine maiden who'll do absolutely anything to get her filthy   
mitts on him!  
  
The tiny Shinzoku looked around and found Sylphiel's bag. She tossed it   
to the frantic elf. "Here! Make him a pie with a file in it!"  
  
Adara blinked and opened the bag, reaching in to to pull one of the fruits   
Sylphiel found on the mountain out. Her eyes went wide.  
  
Then she screamed as if Phibrizzo himself were after her.  
  
"What?!" Achi cried. "What?!"  
  
"WHERE DID YOU GET THIS?!"  
  
Achi shrugged. "Oneechan found them up on the mountain. Do they taste   
good?"  
  
"THEY'RE NOT FOR PIES, YOU NINNY!" Adara wailed. "They're holy fruit!   
We use them in our services! Only the priestess is allowed to touch them!"  
  
"Sooooooooo," Achi mused, "If you're touching them...does that mean   
you're going to Hell?"  
  
Adara screamed again.  
  
"Tell you what. I'll go get Naga. You stay here and work it out for   
yourself, kay?"  
  
The elf woman continued to weep, not hearing her.  
  
Achi ran off towards the holy mountain.  
  
  
  
"I'm sorry, Zelgadis dear," Sylphiel whimpered from her cell next to   
Zelgadis'. The two were separated by bars and were sitting with their backs to   
each other on their respective cots.   
  
"It's all right, Sylphiel," he said again. "It was a nice try."  
  
She sighed. "I guess we'll just have to wait for Mister Xellos and Miss   
Naga to come back."  
  
They were silent for several minutes, neither sure of what to say to one   
another. Finally, it was Sylphiel who broke the silence.  
  
"Zelgadis dear..."  
  
(Zelgadis dear,) Zelgadis thought. He had just noticed that she was   
calling him that...  
  
"About...About before..."  
  
"I told you. You don't have to apologize."  
  
"No," she continued. "I mean about what happened on the mountain."  
  
He said nothing.  
  
"I guess...I'm just a little confused," she confessed.   
  
"How do you think I feel?" he asked quietly.   
  
She didn't reply immediately. "I...I don't know. That's what frightens   
me..."  
  
"You're not the only one."  
  
He felt her turn behind him to face him. He turned in response and saw   
her looking at him through the bars. He reached through the bars of their cells   
and took her hand in his. She blinked for a moment in puzzlement, but let him   
take it.   
  
"What do you feel?" he asked her.  
  
"Warmth," she told him honestly. "Gentleness."  
  
"In my hand?" he asked her.  
  
"Yes," she replied.  
  
"And it's the first time I've ever felt that way as well," he whispered.   
"My stone skin...I guess protected me in more ways than one."  
  
  
  
"I spy with my little eye..."  
  
"Please shut up," Naga begged him. "Please? We've been playing this   
stupid game for three hours!"  
  
"But I'm winning," Xellos pouted.  
  
Naga began shaking, taking a step towards the priest, her hands stretched   
towards his throat.  
  
"Miss Naga?" Xellos queried. "Are you feeling all right?"  
  
The White Serpent was about three feet from throttling the life out of the   
priest when she suddenly stopped. "Look, a cave."  
  
Xellos turned and blinked. "Why, so it is."  
  
The same cave Zelgadis and Sylphiel had found the previous day stood   
before them.   
  
"OOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!" Naga laughed. "Come, priest side-kick of   
questionable worth! We go to find treasure!" She started marching towards the   
cave.  
  
Xellos' eye twitched. "Side...kick?"  
  
"Don't dawdle!" she ordered over her shoulder.  
  
Xellos sighed. "What I do for evil," he whispered in defeat. He started   
after the White Serpent, but paused suddenly.  
  
"What is it?" Naga asked.  
  
"I suddenly feel the presence of a malicious entity," he whispered. "I   
wond..."  
  
*THWACK!*  
  
Xellos growled as he fell to his knees, his hand going to the back of his   
head as the rock that had struck him hit the ground next to him.  
  
Naga turned as Achi came running up to them. "Hey," she panted. "I tried   
to get your attention, but you didn't hear me."  
  
Xellos stood up and raised his staff over his head, taking a rage-filled   
step towards the girl...  
  
"Oh, by the way," Achi said casually, "Mister Zelgadis and Oneechan are in   
the slammer."  
  
The three of them paused for a moment.  
  
"Yeah?" Naga said, "So what?"  
  
Achi hit the floor. She climbed to her feet and turned on Naga. "WHADDYA   
MEAN, 'YEAH, SO WHAT?!'"  
  
"Dear girl," Naga smiled, "If Zelgadis and Sylphiel want to go and get   
themselves arrested, it's hardly my problem, now is it?"  
  
"But...But you have to rescue them!" Achi cried.  
  
Naga put her arms over her chest. "Sitting in a cell for a little while   
won't hurt them. I have a treasure to hunt down. Now, if you'll excuse me,"   
she said, turning.  
  
Achi smiled. "Oneechan has the treasure."  
  
Naga stopped in her tracks. "You're bluffing," she muttered.  
  
"Go ahead into that cave," Achi said, waving her away. "You won't find   
anything but a weird garden and some fruit trees. Oneechan found the treasure   
yesterday."  
  
"Then what is it?" Naga asked with a smile.  
  
Achi tossed her hair and stuck her nose in the air. "Hmmph!"  
  
Naga's eye twitched. "Fine...You win. We'll go bust them out first."  
  
"Yay!" Achi cried, rushing forward to give Naga a hug.  
  
"Now," Naga said to herself in thought as Achi hugged her. "We need a   
plan..." She snapped her fingers. "Got it! We'll distract the guard with a   
beautiful, voluptuous woman while the other goes around back and breaks Sylphiel   
and Stony out of jail!"  
  
Achi blinked and frowned. "What kind of lame ass plan is that?" she   
whispered to herself.  
  
  
  
Gaius Adonis was working guard duty that day while the sheriff and the   
other deputies took the day off. It was easy duty, but pretty boring. The only   
reason he was here was bad luck...  
  
It was at that moment that a woman with violet hair and wearing a red   
dress slit provocatively up the right thigh entered.  
  
Like I said, the only reason he was there was good luck...  
  
He hopped out of his chair and smiled. "Good afternoon, Miss," he said.   
"Can I help you?"  
  
The woman smiled. "I'm so sorry to bother you," she began, looking   
distraught and vulnerable. "I lost my kitty. Is this where I report it?"  
  
"Yes, Ma'am!" Gaius said quickly. "You just have a seat right there, and   
we'll see if we can't find your kitty."  
  
She sat down and crossed her legs demurely, leaning her elbow on the desk   
and smiling at the guard.  
  
Gaius only smiled back.  
  
  
  
"Psst!"  
  
Sylphiel blinked and looked up at the window.  
  
"Psst!"  
  
Zelgadis heard it as well this time and looked up, seeing a most welcome   
face there. "It's about time you got here!" he hissed in annoyance.  
  
"Yes," Sylphiel sighed. "I was beginning to worry." She blinked in   
puzzlement. "By the way...where's Mister Xellos?"  
  
Naga grinned. "He's indisposed at the moment."  
  
  
  
  
Gaius thanked his luck again as he filed the report away. "Well, Ma'am,   
we'll do everything we can to find your kitty. In the meantime, are you okay?   
Would you like me to give you a ride home?"  
  
Xellos sniffled into a tissue and dabbed at the mascara threatening to run   
down his face. "No, thank you. That won't be necessary."  
  
"Are you sure? Maybe if I bought you lunch?" He leaned forward and   
smiled.  
  
Xellos sniffled again and reached into his purse. Taking out a rather   
large brick, he quickly brought it around and struck Gaius in the back of the   
head with it. The guard hit the desktop, out cold.  
  
"Hmmph! How fresh!" Xellos sniffed.  
  
Achi came scampering inside from the front door. She saw the scene and   
arched an eyebrow.  
  
"Slut," she commented.  
  
"Oh, stuff it," Xellos told her. Together they started for the cells in   
the back room.  
  
That's when they heard someone clear their throat behind them.  
  
They stopped.  
  
"Bus-ted," Achi whimpered, turning to see the sheriff and several   
deputies with drawn bows standing in the doorway.  
  
Xellos laughed nervously. "Officer," he began, "It's not even my cart..."  
  
  
  
"How are you going to get us out?" Zelgadis asked.  
  
"Simple," Naga proclaimed. "I'll tie a chain to the bars of your window,   
attach it to the pair of horses out here, slap them on the ass, and watch them   
tear the window out. Simple."  
  
"Please hurry, Miss Naga!" Sylphiel implored her.  
  
"Just a sec..." Naga said. "Sylphiel, empty your pockets."  
  
"Whatever for?" the shrine maiden asked.  
  
"Just do it!"  
  
"We don't have time for this!" Zelgadis hissed.  
  
"I don't slap this horse's ass until I see her empty her pockets!" Naga   
hissed back.  
  
"Fine," Sylphiel sighed. She turned her pockets inside out.   
  
Naga examined the contents and slammed her fist on the window sill. "I   
knew it! That little bitch!"  
  
"What are you talking about?!" Zelgadis demanded.  
  
"Never mind. Just hold on while I..."  
  
Someone cleared their throat outside.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Miss Naga?" Sylphiel whispered.  
  
"Aw, damn," they heard Naga sigh.  
  
  
  
Achi looked across the cell at the cross-dressed Mazoku and glared. "Have   
I told you today just how much you suck?" she asked.  
  
Xellos replied by taking out his harmonica.  
  
"Oh, for the love of God, someone take that thing away from him!" Naga   
cried from the cell she shared with Zelgadis.  
  
Sylphiel and Zelgadis sighed, their backs to each other as they sat on   
their cots. "Well," Sylphiel remarked, "I guess we need a new plan."  
  
Zelgadis nodded.  
  
"This never would have happened if you had distracted the guards for just   
a few more seconds!" Naga chastised Xellos and Achi. "What kind of side-kick   
are you?"  
  
Xellos' eye twitched again. "Side-kick," he muttered. He began to play   
the harmonica.  
  
Achi, meanwhile, was shaking the bars of the cell. "Let us out, you big   
doofuses!" she shouted.   
  
A second later, a large guard appeared holding a club. He glared at Achi.  
  
"Oh! That's right!" she cried. "Come on back here!" She pointed to the   
Mazoku in the corner. "Mister Xellos isn't afraid of you!"  
  
Xellos' eyes went wide.  
  
"Yeah!" Achi continued. "He said you were just a great big meat head!"  
  
"Um...Achi..." Sylphiel began with a sweatdrop.  
  
"I bet he could take you all on by himself...unarmed...with one hand tied   
behind his back!"  
  
"Is that so?!" the guard asked.  
  
Xellos sighed and stood up. He handed the harmonica to Sylphiel. "If I   
don't make it back, do me a favor and use this to drive Achi chan insane." He   
took a step toward his destiny...  
  
"That's enough!"   
  
They looked up to see the sheriff enter. He pointed at Zelgadis. "You.   
It's time for your trial."  
  
  
  
"WHEEL!"  
  
Zelgadis blinked as the bright light struck his eyeballs as he was led   
outside into the main arena.  
  
"OF!"  
  
He looked around and saw a crowd of people sitting in the stands, watching   
him.  
  
"JUSTICE!!!"  
  
In the center of the arena was the mammoth Wheel of Justice. Zelgadis   
blinked in shock, his eyes narrowing.  
  
"*This*...is my trial?" he asked the deputy next to him.  
  
"The gods of chance will decide your guilt or innocence," the deputy told   
him.  
  
"Oh...joy..." Zelgadis muttered.  
  
A white-haired elf in a black tuxedo walked out from the stands followed   
by a blonde elf in a provocative blue dress. He held a microphone in his hands   
with a tube on the end that led to a set of horn-shaped amplifiers at one end of   
the arena. This allowed him to amplify his voice so that the entire crowd could   
hear.  
  
This, however, didn't stop him for shouting as loud as he could into the   
apparatus...  
  
"YES! AND WELCOME TO ANOTHER EPISODE OF WHEEL OF JUSTICE! THE PLACE   
WHERE THE GODS OF CHANCE DETERMINE A MAN'S GUILT OR INNOCENCE AND GIVE HIM A   
CHANCE TO WIN FABULOUS PRIZES!!!!"  
  
Zelgadis turned to the guard. "I'll give you all the money in my wallet   
right now if you club me to death..."  
  
The guard just shook his head.  
  
"JAHNHI! TELL US ABOUT TODAY'S CONTESTANT!"  
  
"Well, Klaive," an announcer's voice came from seemingly everywhere,   
"Today's special guest is a visitor all the way from the main continent!   
Sorcerer! Swordsman! Former chimera! And now convict A number one! ZELGADIS   
GREYWORDS!!!"  
  
Zelgadis sighed.  
  
"MISTER ZELGADIS!" the host, Klaive, began as he walked towards the   
human, "YOU HAVE BEEN CHARGED WITH VIOLATING THE HOLY MOUNTAIN!"  
  
"You don't have to shout. I'm right here," Zelgadis told him, his arms   
over his chest in annoyance.  
  
Klaive laughed boisterously. "ISN'T HE GREAT, FOLKS! FACING CERTAIN   
DEATH AND HE'S STILL CRACKING JOKES! LET'S GIVE HIM A HAND!"  
  
The audience went wild and applauded Zelgadis.  
  
Zelgadis turned back to the guard. "I changed my mind. I'll give you all   
the money in my wallet right now if you club *him* to death."  
  
"JAHNI! WHICH OF OUR CITIZENS IS BRINGING THIS CHARGE AGAINST OUR JOCULAR   
NEW CONTESTANT!?"  
  
"Well, Klaive," Jahni's voice spoke up again, "That would High Priestess   
Zuanna. She says that Mister Zelgadis climbed the holy mountain after being   
warned and that he defiled the Sacred Garden!"  
  
"Oooooh!" Klaive spoke into the mic at Zelgadis, his voice lower as if he   
were sharing a secret with the human. "That's a no no...MISTER ZELGADIS! HOW   
DO YOU PLEAD?!"  
  
"What happens if I plead guilty?" Zelgadis asked.  
  
Klaive laughed and turned to the audience. "OUR FRIEND REALLY IS FROM OUT   
OF TOWN! JAHNI! TELL HIM WHAT HE WINS IF HE PLEADS GUILTY!"  
  
"Well, Klaive, if Mister Zelgadis pleads guilty to Zuanna's charge, he'll   
be sent on a fabulous vacation to the salt mines on the other end of the island!   
He'll live in squalid quarters! He'll work in the harshest conditions side by   
side with the very scum of the Earth! It'll be a toss-up as to whether the   
other inmates kill him or the nonexistent safety standards!!"  
  
"Not guilty," Zelgadis told him.  
  
"YES!!! A PLAYER!!"  
  
The crowd went wild.  
  
  
  
"This is horrible!" Sylphiel cried from the stands. "How can these   
people decide justice based purely on chance?!"  
  
"Beats a jury trial," Achi sniffed. "Face it, Oneechan, they have him   
dead to rights. All he's got now is chance."  
  
  
  
"MISTER ZELGADIS!" Klaive screamed into the mic, "YOU HAVE PLEADED NOT   
GUILTY! IS THAT YOUR FINAL ANSWER?!"  
  
"Yes," Zelgadis sighed.  
  
"THEN SPIN THE WHEEL!!!!"  
  
The crowd cheered again as the blonde, leggy elf led Zelgadis up to the   
Wheel of Justice.   
  
"NOW, MISTER ZELGADIS," Klaive began again, "This is your chance. If you   
land on Not Guilty, you could win...an official apology...a free pig from   
Denora's farm...a beach-front condo...or...GOLD!!!"   
  
The crowd cheered again.  
  
"But..." Klaive went on, "If you land on Guilty...Jahni?"  
  
"LETHAL INJECTION!" Jahni's voice rumbled through the stands.  
  
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!!!" answered the crowd.  
  
"NO! YOU CAN'T!" Sylphiel cried, jumping up from her seat. Naga and   
Xellos managed to pull her back down.  
  
"Mister Zelgadis," Klaive whispered to him, and through the microphone,   
the crowd, "SPIN THAT WHEEL!!!"  
  
Zelgadis sighed and looked up at the wheel. It was positioned vertically   
and stood about ten meters high. Tiny pie wedges in the wheel all read either   
'Guilty' or 'Not Guilty.' He reached up and grabbed one of the many handles on   
the side of the wheel and gave it a hard tug downward.  
  
The Wheel of Justice began to spin.  
  
The crowd cheered on, shouting either "GUILTY! GUILTY!" or "INNOCENT!"  
  
Zelgadis watched with narrowed eyes as the wheel spun.  
  
Sylphiel bit her lip anxiously, tears in her eyes.  
  
Naga watched the wheel suspiciously, trying to see if it was rigged.  
  
Xellos filed his nails.  
  
Achi was waving down the hotdog vender...  
  
(Guilty, Not Guilty, Guilty, Not Guilty...) Zelgadis' mind reported as he   
watched the wheel spin.  
  
(Death, Life, Death, Life...) Sylphiel thought as she watched.  
  
The wheel began to slow.  
  
Sylphiel bit her nails.  
  
"Hey! There's no relish on this dog!" Achi screamed at the retreating   
hotdog vendor's back.  
  
Guilty...Not Guilty...Guilty...Not Guilty...  
  
The crowd was silent.  
  
Guilty.  
  
"NO!" Sylphiel cried out.  
  
"GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY!" the crowd chanted.  
  
Zelgadis stared up at the wheel and sighed. "Of course," he whispered.  
  
"GUILTY!" Klaive cried at the crowd.  
  
The crowd cheered.  
  
"Now, Mister Zelgadis," Klaive said softly to the chimera, "We don't   
usually do this, but there is another option." He spoke as if sharing a secret   
with him. Him and the thousand people in the stands, anyway. "What if I told   
you...that there's a way to overturn this verdict?"  
  
"Get to the deal," Zelgadis sighed.  
  
"All you have to do...is go three rounds with Elmo...THE DESTROYER!!!"   
  
The crowd cheered.  
  
Zelgadis remained unimpressed. "You want me to fight someone for your   
audience, is that it?"  
  
"That's right! ELMO THE DESTROYER!"  
  
The crowd cheered again.  
  
Zelgadis stood there for a moment. "I'll take that shot now," he said.  
  
The crowd stopped cheering.  
  
"Um...Excuse me?" Klaive asked.  
  
"EXCUSE ME!?" Sylphiel shouted angrily, rising to her feet again.  
  
Zelgadis snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not going to   
demean myself in my last moments by fighting some muppet for the entertainment   
of a bunch of elves too stupid to read a book. Stop grinding the organ. This   
monkey won't dance."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Um, we still have time left in the show," Klaive told him. "You have   
to. Don't you want to live?!"  
  
Zelgadis shrugged. "Would you be offering me this opportunity if you   
thought I had a chance in hell of beating Elmo the Destroyer? You just want me   
to entertain you. Give me the shot."  
  
"You're going to die out of spite?!"  
  
"Better than dying for your short attention spans."  
  
"BOOOO!" the crowd called down.  
  
Klaive thought for a few minutes. "Okay, how about this?" he began. He   
raised the mic again. "MISTER ZELGADIS! IF YOU FIGHT...*ELMO THE   
DESTROYER*...AND WIN...NOT ONLY WILL YOU GO FREE, BUT THE CHARGES AGAINST YOUR   
FRIENDS WILL BE *DROPPED*!!!"  
  
Zelgadis looked over at the stands where Sylphiel was sitting. She seemed   
to be begging him with her eyes. Sure, if he refused he could die and make his   
statement, but then Sylphiel would end up having to spin that wheel too...  
  
"Very well," he said.  
  
"YES!" Klaive shouted, throwing his hands in the air.   
  
The crowd cheered their approval.  
  
"FOLKS! WE'LL RETURN AFTER A SHORT BREAK! AND THEN, ZELGADIS WILL FACE   
OFF WITH ELMO THE DESTROYER! DON'T GO AWAY!"  
  
  
  
  
"You're going to fight?" Sylphiel breathed as Zelgadis approached the   
stands.   
  
"No choice," he told her. "It's either sink or swim." He turned as his   
guard handed him his sword back. "Don't worry. After dealing with Rezo,   
ValGaav, and putting up with Xellos, how hard could Elmo the Destroyer be?"  
  
  
  
On the other side of the arena, Elmo the Destroyer, who was normally just   
plain Elmo the pig farmer, was putting on his mask and helmet and checking his   
mace.   
  
Just as he was tightening on his plate armor, someone tapped his shoulder   
from behind. He turned...  
  
Just in time for someone to strike his metal facemask with the pommel of a   
broadsword, knocking him out...  
  
  
  
Zelgadis checked his blade and nodded. Achi leaned down from the stands   
and offered him a drink of water.  
  
"Please be careful, Zelgadis dear," Sylphiel begged him.  
  
Without a word, he turned and started back into the arena.  
  
Sylphiel watched him go and bit her lip nervously. "Please be careful,"   
she whispered again.   
  
"There you are!"  
  
They all turned to find Adara, carrying a large bundle of clothing,   
running up to them. "I just heard my Zelgadis is going to fight Elmo the   
Destroyer!"  
  
"Where have you been?" Naga asked her.  
  
"I've been making these!" Adara grinned, holding the pile up. "I figured   
my dear Zelgadis might need some support, so I made one for each of you."  
  
Naga picked up the top article on the bundle and blinked. "This is a   
joke, right?"  
  
"No, it is not a joke!" Adara spat. "Dear Zelgadis needs us now! Now   
are you going to help or sit up there and wait to die!?"  
  
The group looked to each other with expressions that seemed to say,   
"You've got to be kidding."  
  
  
  
"Ready?!"  
  
"O-Kay!"  
  
As one, Naga, Adara, and Achi, dressed in purple and tan cheerleader   
outfits with big letter "Z's" on the front began to sway their hips and frilly   
pom poms back and forth.  
  
"Who's the man with the sharpest sword?!" Adara yelled.  
  
"It's Zel! It's Zel!" Naga and Achi answered loudly.  
  
"Who's the man who'll kick Elmo's ass!?" Adara cried.  
  
"It's Zel! It's Zel!"  
  
Standing off to the side, Xellos in a male version of the cheerleader   
outfit, and Sylphiel, also dressed like the others but not participating,   
watched and tried to comprehend the point.  
  
"Well," Xellos commented, "They're certainly...enthusiastic."  
  
In the center of the arena, Zelgadis put his face in his hands and shook   
his head from side to side.  
  
"WELL, MISTER ZELGADIS!" Klaive shouted, "IT SEEMS YOU HAVE YOUR OWN   
CHEERING SECTION!"  
  
"I've changed my mind again," Zelgadis muttered. "I want that shot now."  
  
"TOO LATE TO CHANGE YOUR MIND, NOW, MISTER ZELGADIS!" Klaive shouted with   
a pat on the back. "NOW! MEET YOUR OPPONENT! ELMO THE DESTROYER!!!"  
  
Elmo the Destroyer stepped out from his side of the arena to the cheers of   
the waiting crowd, wearing a set of plate mail and a facemask helmet in the   
shape of a dragon's head. He held a mace and shield over his head and played to   
the crowd.  
  
"What if I kill him?" Zelgadis asked Klaive seriously. "I don't want to   
escape one charge just to be executed for murder."  
  
Klaive covered the mic with his hand. "Don't worry. He signed a release.   
He's facing execution anyway for killing his wife."  
  
"That's comforting," Zelgadis commented and drew his sword.  
  
"LET'S GET IT ON!!" Klaive screamed into the mic.  
  
"Zel! Zel! He's our man! If he can't do it, no one can!" his cheering   
section called.  
  
Zelgadis and the armor-clad elf approached one another. Elmo hung his   
spiked mace on his belt and offered the human his hand to shake. Zelgadis put   
his sword in his left hand and reached out to shake the elf's hand...  
  
*CLANG!*  
  
This was the sound that reverberated throughout the arena as Elmo suddenly   
struck Zelgadis in the side of the head with his shield. Zelgadis fell to the   
ground, dazed as the crowd cheered Elmo on.  
  
Zelgadis growled and stood up. If that's how Elmo wanted it, fine. He   
raised his sword in an en guarde position and watched as the elf shifted his   
stance, raising his shield to cover himself while preparing the mace for a hard   
strike. Zelgadis' eyes narrowed as he realized that this man knew what he was   
doing.  
  
Elmo dashed forward and swung the mace in an overhand swipe, followed by   
another backhand swipe. Zelgadis hopped back twice to avoid the blows, and   
brought his sword up to block a third. He thought his arm might have been   
broken by the sheer force of the blow. He had to remind himself to be more   
careful. He didn't have stone skin to protect him anymore, just pink flesh and   
muscle.   
  
The elf pushed outward, knocking Zelgadis to the ground. Zelgadis looked   
up and rolled to the right just in time to avoid another swing from Elmo.   
  
The crowd continued to cheer.  
  
Naga, Adara, and Achi continued to chant their support.  
  
Sylphiel bit her nails.  
  
Zelgadis jumped to his feet and dashed at Elmo, hoping for a good thrust   
to his midsection. The elf swung his mace, and Zelgadis just managed to duck   
beneath it.   
  
"OOOOOH!" the crowd responded.  
  
"ZEL! GA! DIS!" Adara squealed as Naga tossed her into the air.  
  
"Are you sure?" Xellos asked Achi.  
  
"Yes, I'm sure!" the girl bit back. "Now toss me!"  
  
Xellos smiled. "Of course." Picking up the young girl, he tossed her   
high into the air...and took a step back.  
  
"ZEL! GA! DIIIIII-AIIIIIIIIII!!!!" she cried as she hit the ground. She   
glared up at the trickster priest and growled.  
  
"Oh, was I supposed to catch you too?" he asked innocently.  
  
Before Achi could bite out a retort, Sylphiel cried out at another close   
call. Zelgadis brought his finger up and touched the blood from the small   
scratch on his face caused by one of the mace's spikes. He grinned ferally and   
charged.  
  
Elmo paused and brought his shield up as Zelgadis lifted his sword over   
his head. Then, at the last second, the human shifted his stance and slid like   
a ball player between Elmo's legs. Before the elf could react, Zelgadis struck   
out with his left fist just as he slid beneath him.  
  
"Ooooooooooooh!" The crowd groaned in sympathy.  
  
Elmo gasped, dropping his mace as he held his privates and fell to his   
knees.  
  
Zelgadis rose to his knees and moved some brown hair from over his eyes as   
casually as if he were doing it in the street and not in a fight for his life.  
  
Xellos turned away and grimaced sympathetically. He was also rather   
miffed that a man was feeling that kind of pain, and the Mazoku couldn't feed on   
it...  
  
"Oneechan...That looked like it really hurt," Achi whispered.  
  
Sylphiel chuckled nervously and turned red.  
  
Naga only smiled and nodded to herself. "I have taught him well."  
  
"What did *you* ever teach him?" Achi asked skeptically.  
  
Elmo, gasping for breath and not getting enough of it, reached up and tore   
the face-mask from his head, gasping. Blonde hair revealed itself.  
  
Sylphiel gasped.  
  
Klaive blinked. "That's not Elmo..."  
  
'Elmo' looked up at Zelgadis with hate in his eyes. He picked up the mace   
and rushed towards the human's turned back.  
  
"ZELGADIS DEAR!" Sylphiel screeched.  
  
Zelgadis turned just as the elf assassin was about to bring his mace down   
on the human's head.   
  
Something, however, made him stop, made his eyes go wide, and made him   
gasp in pain.  
  
He and Zelgadis looked down to find the human's sword buried three feet   
into Elmo's stomach. Zelgadis looked up at the man's face, having never seen it   
but recognizing him all the same.   
  
"They'll kill us all," the assassin gasped out, then fell to the ground.  
  
Zelgadis looked down at the dead man and took a breath. He turned, and   
suddenly, the crowd was on its feet, cheering.  
  
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THE WINNER! MISTER ZELGADIS!!" Klaive shouted.  
  
Before he could react, something slammed into him. He looked down and   
found Sylphiel hugging him. Something hit him from the right, and he found   
Adara latched onto him from that side. A hit from the left, and Achi was   
clinging to him.  
  
He looked up and sighed. Naga and Xellos looked to each other, shrugged,   
and rushed up to him, joining the group hug.  
  
  
  
"Elves are a very strange bunch," Naga noted with her back against the   
cottage wall. Zelgadis' victory, so unexpected, was heralded as a great heroic   
feat...  
  
And thus merited a party.  
  
The entire village was out tonight, dancing around bonfires, drinking   
every drop of distilled liquid on the island, and rehashing the fight over and   
over again. Zuanna had even congratulated the former chimera on his victory.  
  
Zelgadis only nodded at Naga's statement, leaning against the wall next to   
her. He was hiding out from the elves who wanted to talk to him about his   
heroism. The rest of their group had disappeared into the crowd somewhere.  
  
"So," Naga began, stretching, "Now what?"  
  
"I still have to find out what's preventing magic from working here," he   
told her. "And that means going up the mountain again."  
  
"They don't seem to like that, you know," Naga told him.  
  
"Heh," he replied with a devilish grin. "What can they do? Execute me   
again?"  
  
Naga slapped him on the back. "OOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!" she laughed,   
causing him to grimace at the sound. "I like you, Stony!" she told him. "No   
wonder Lina hangs out with you."  
  
"That's another thing," he began. "You never did tell me why the two of   
you split up."  
  
"Well, it all started when..." She broke off as she saw a familiar elf   
approaching them. "Look out, Stony. Here comes your girlfriend."  
  
Zelgadis turned and saw Adara making her way towards them. He sighed.   
"Do me a favor. I'm not here, okay?"  
  
"Sure thing," Naga said, downing another pint of ale. Quickly, Zelgadis   
snuck away and around another house, disappearing into the crowd.  
  
He actually laughed out loud. A few days ago, disappearing into a crowd   
was something he'd never been able to do. Now, it was easy.   
  
"Ah! Mister Zelgadis!"  
  
He paused and grumbled. One could never disappear from him. "Xellos," he   
greeted.  
  
Xellos, back in his robes, smiled and walked up to him. "Mingling?"  
  
"Sort of."  
  
"I'm curious," the priest began. "How does it feel?"  
  
"How does what feel?" Zelgadis asked irritably.  
  
"Being a part of the party," Xellos clarified with a grin. "Look around,   
Mister Zelgadis," he said, waving at the crowd. "No more stares. No more   
looks. Why...everything unique about you is gone."  
  
Zelgadis smiled. "Good riddance."  
  
"So now what will you do?" Xellos asked.  
  
"You're the second person to ask me that," Zelgadis sighed. "I'll go back   
up the mountain and..."  
  
"No," Xellos interrupted. "I mean, now that you're human. From what I   
can tell, you have no more reason to travel. Nothing left to search for."  
  
Zelgadis wasn't really listening. He had caught sight of Sylphiel in the   
crowd, her head bowed, as she entered a nearby barn.  
  
"Or do you?" Xellos asked with a grin.  
  
Zelgadis growled and turned back to him. "Stop speaking in riddles, just   
once," he begged.  
  
Xellos seemed to consider it, then leaned forward conspiratorially.   
"Would you like to know a Mazoku secret?" he asked.  
  
Zelgadis sighed. "If I say yes, do you promise to leave me alone?"  
  
The trickster priest ignored him and gestured to the barn. "Mazoku never   
pass up on a good thing." He straightened again.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?"  
  
Xellos grinned. "That's a secret!"  
  
The human rolled his eyes.  
  
"But it shouldn't be *too* hard to figure out," Xellos whispered.  
  
Zelgadis turned to retort but found the Mazoku already moving through the   
crowd away from him. He turned back and found himself looking at the barn.  
  
(I wonder why she went in there,) he thought to himself.  
  
(Zelgadis, have you been taking stupid elixirs again?) a part of his mind   
bit back. (You of all people should realize why.)  
  
He took a breath as it dawned on him. He started towards the barn,   
opening the door and slipping quietly inside.  
  
  
  
Sylphiel patted the horse's snout as it ate some oats out of her hand.   
"Thatta girl," she whispered affectionately.  
  
Parties didn't seem to be her thing. She had felt very uncomfortable out   
there in the crowd. Every time someone would glance at her, she felt as if they   
were staring at her.  
  
She sighed. What made this island such a bounty for Zelgadis dear was,   
for her, a curse. She was happy for him. She really was...  
  
God, she hated this place. A part of her wished that she had never told   
Zelgadis dear about its existence while another part of her felt guilty for   
feeling that way. If she hadn't told Zelgadis dear, he might have never have   
found his cure. And she'd be the one to blame.  
  
She *was* happy for him.  
  
A tear fell from her cheek without her realizing it. She blinked in   
surprise and watched as more tears fell.  
  
The barn door opened and shut. She quickly turned away and started wiping   
the tears from her eyes.   
  
"Sylphiel?" she heard.  
  
Her breath caught in her throat. (Oh, why did he have to find me *now*?!)   
she asked herself.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked her softly.  
  
She wiped the tears away but didn't turn. "I'm fine," she told him.   
"How's the party?" she asked. "It's in your honor, after all. You...you   
earned it..."  
  
"Sylphiel," he whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"How did you do it?" she asked him softly. "For so long...How did you go   
so long with everyone..." She broke off and couldn't continue.   
  
"Sylphiel, look at me," he told her softly.  
  
She turned slowly and looked up at him, her head turned slightly to the   
side to hide her scar. He reached out with his fingertips and tilted her face   
towards him so he could see her entire face.  
  
He saw the new tear running down her scarred cheek and wiped it away with   
a finger. He knew the pain she was feeling. He had felt it himself so long it   
had threatened to scar him. What hurt most of all was the loneliness. Lina had   
tried to tell him once that she understood what he was going through, but he   
only laughed. No one could really understand what it felt like.  
  
Now the roles were reversed. He was "normal" for lack of a better word,   
and she...  
  
Was still beautiful.  
  
"Zelgadis dear?" she whispered.  
  
"Would you have let me kiss you back in the garden?" he asked her.  
  
She stared up at him, unsure for a moment. Finally, "Yes," she whispered.  
  
He paused for a moment, then leaned forward slowly. He found himself   
afraid. The man who had faced down two Rezo's, Phibrizzo, Gaav, ValGaav, Lina   
Inverse...was afraid.  
  
She had shut her eyes, her breath quickening. For half a second, he   
considered pulling back, but found himself inexorably pulled forward, his lips   
brushing gently against hers.  
  
It was as if a dam had burst. What had once seemed so frightening now   
seemed so natural. Their arms slowly wrapped around one another and held each   
other close. The rest of the world seemed to vanish.   
  
Their lips parted momentarily, and Sylphiel, her eyes still closed,   
whispered, "Is this love?"  
  
Zelgadis' eyes opened, and he gazed at her. "I don't know," he whispered   
truthfully. "I've never felt this way before."  
  
She looked up at him and smiled. "Then what do we call it?"  
  
He leaned forward again. "The beginning."  
  
(The beginning. I like the way that sounds,) she thought as her lips   
found his again.  
  
(Yes, this is the beginning.)  
  
  
  
To Be Continued...  



	6. Unmasked! Achi Revealed!

Slayers is the property of Kadokawa Shoten.  
  
NAGA: Naga the White Serpent here! Normally, Lina chan would go over what's   
happened before, but just like Lina chan, she's out making a pig of herself!  
  
  
LINA: (Sitting at a campfire with Gourry and Amelia.) ACHOO! Hmmm…If I didn't   
know better…I'd say someone was talking about me behind my back…  
  
  
NAGA: Anyway…After many adventures with my associates, Stony, Sylphiel, Achi, and   
my priest side-kick of questionable worth, Xellos, we've finally found the island, Zarak   
Tor….Now where the hell is my money, Xellos?!  
  
XELLOS: Money? Did I say, "money?"  
  
NAGA: YES, YOU SAID MONEY, DAMMIT! Anyhoo! It seems that Sylphiel and   
Stony…I mean…Zelgadis…Had a *very* interesting evening last night celebrating his   
acquittal by the Wheel of Justice…  
  
SYLPHIEL: (Blushing) It's not what you think! Not what you think at all!  
  
NAGA: Of course it's not….Yeah, right! Adara is still trying to get Stony, and   
Achi…Hey, where is Achi anyway? She's been acting a little suspicious lately…  
  
  
Slayers: Faces  
Part 6  
Unmasked!  
Achi Revealed!  
  
  
Zelgadis woke up slowly, not really caring if he woke up at all. He wasn't quite   
sure where he was, so he tried to mentally retrace his steps from last night. He could feel   
tiny daggers scratching his back through his tunic. He realized that he was lying on straw.   
Something covered him, a blanket of some kind. He looked down and saw it was made of   
a familiar purple material.  
  
He felt something move against his right side and turned his head. Sylphiel's head   
was nestled against his shoulder, her hand coming up to rest on his chest. The blanket was   
actually her cape.  
  
He panicked for a moment and tried to remember what had happened. They were   
both still fully clothed, so he was fairly certain that nothing…er…final…had happened.   
  
It came back to him a moment later, and he breathed a sigh. He remembered now.   
They had fallen asleep like this, spending the night talking and holding one another.  
  
(I guess we lost track of time,) he thought. Not that he minded, really. It had been a   
night of revelations for them both.   
  
Someone loved him.  
  
For a man who had never known what that felt like, the realization had hit him like   
a kick from a wild horse.   
  
He felt her stir against him and remained perfectly still, not wishing to disturb her   
sleep. He was content to remain like this for just a little longer.  
  
  
  
Sylphiel felt him stir and tried to stay very still so as not to disturb him. She didn't   
want to let on that she was awake yet. She was trying desperately to savor every moment   
of being held by him.   
  
She thought about last night, about how he had come to comfort her, had held   
her…had kissed her.   
  
She couldn't help but smile sleepily when she thought about how warm it had felt.   
For a few seconds when his lips touched hers, all the problems in the world seemed to fly   
away. She had felt so warm, so safe…  
  
What did this mean for them now? She sighed to herself softly and let her mind   
play with the idea. What would happen now? Now that Zelgadis dear was cured, he   
would undoubtedly want to move on to a normal life. He may continue to travel, and if so,   
she'd go with him, refusing to leave his side. Days would be spent exploring the greater   
world around them, and nights spent nestled together in a sleeping roll.  
  
Or perhaps he'd prefer to settle down somewhere. He did have options open to   
him. He was, after all, willingly or not, educated by Rezo the Red Priest, one of the five   
wise men of the age. And with his knowledge of magic, he could probably teach at any of   
a hundred universities. He had certainly done a fine job teaching her. They could get a   
small house in the city and live the simple dream of being a family.  
  
(Sylphiel Greywords…) her mind played with.  
  
Oh, no, it was far too early to even play with an idea like that!  
  
(Sylphiel Greywords.)  
  
Okay, maybe just *a little* toying…  
  
She snuggled into the crook of his shoulder and rested against him. She loved   
feeling this way.  
  
"Sylphiel?" she heard him whisper.   
  
"Hmm?" she replied.  
  
"I have to go."  
  
Her response was to hold tighter. "Not yet," she begged.  
  
Soft fingers touched her hair, stroking it gently. "I still have to find that weapon,"   
he told her. "The sooner, the better. I have to go back up that mountain."  
  
"They'll arrest you again if you do that," she told him.  
  
"I don't have a choice."  
  
"Of course you do."  
  
He looked down at her and blinked.  
  
"Miss Zuanna goes up that mountain every week," Sylphiel told her. "I spoke with   
her for awhile last night, one shrine maiden to another. If anyone on this island knows   
where the weapon of Zarak Tor is, it's her."  
  
He just stared down at her in surprise. Why didn't he think of that?  
  
(You're used to people looking at a devil and saying no…)  
  
"I'm sure if you ask her about it, she'll try to help," the shrine maiden said softly   
and yawned, snuggling closer.   
  
"I…I think I will," Zelgadis told her.  
  
"Good," Sylphiel whispered. "That means you don't have to leave yet."  
  
Zelgadis chuckled. If there really was no reason to leave…  
  
Suddenly, Sylphiel lifted her head. "I know!" She looked up at him. "I'll make   
you breakfast!"  
  
"You don't have to do that," he told her.  
  
"I want to," she assured him, climbing to her feet. "You stay here. I'll be right   
back."  
  
"Sylphiel…"  
  
She rushed forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I promise." With that, she   
dashed out the door.   
  
Zelgadis sighed and smiled, resting back against the pile of hay.  
  
  
  
Sylphiel hummed happily as she cracked an egg on the edge of the pan and started   
to fry it. She'd have to remember to replace the ingredients she was borrowing from   
Adara's cupboard later.   
  
"Well!" she heard someone behind her call out. "You were out late last night,"   
Naga commented, leering over her shoulder.  
  
Sylphiel blushed. "Er…yes…I…was speaking to Miss Zuanna about Elven   
religious practices…"  
  
"Of course you were," Naga agreed, brushing some straw off of Sylphiel's back.  
  
Sylphiel turned an even deeper red.  
  
"What's going on?" Achi asked as she entered the room.  
  
"Our little Sylphiel chan has had an interesting night," Naga told her.  
  
Sylphiel tried to ignore them and went back to frying the egg.   
  
"Oh," Achi smiled. "Did you have fun with Mister Zelgadis?" she asked.  
  
Sylphiel sweatdropped. "I…I don't know what you mean…" she stated.  
  
"Oh no?" Naga asked with another leer. "That's a big breakfast you're making,"   
she commented, looking at the tray of toast, juice, and bacon already prepared. "Going to   
eat all that yourself?"  
  
"N…No…" Sylphiel confessed.  
  
Naga and Achi grinned at one another. "Then who's it for?" Naga pressed.  
  
"I…I thought Zelgadis dear…"  
  
"'Zelgadis dear?'" Naga asked.   
  
"I mean Mister Zelgadis!" Sylphiel tried to catch. "I just thought he might like   
breakfast!"  
  
"Well, you're forgetting something, Child," Naga told her.  
  
"What?"  
  
Naga grinned evilly. "Dessert…Oh wait! That's right! You *didn't* forget   
dessert, did you!? You served it last night!"  
  
Sylphiel was the color of her cape by now.  
  
Achi smiled and decided to make things even more uncomfortable for the priestess.   
"Oneechan, I don't understand. What's Miss Naga saying you did last night?"  
  
Sylphiel began to sweat profusely.  
  
"Were there any strawberries?"  
  
The three shrieked in surprise and found Xellos standing behind them, a smile on   
his face.  
  
"NOTHING HAPPENED! NOTHING AT ALL!" Sylphiel cried out. She returned   
to making breakfast.  
  
Naga's grin refused to leave her face. "So…what you're saying is…that you made   
the soufflé…you just didn't eat it?"  
  
"Maybe it just didn't rise," Xellos suggested innocently.  
  
"It rose just fine!" Sylphiel cried, then clapped her hands over her mouth. She   
sniffed and turned back to the pan. "Fine! Since it's obvious you all know, anyway, I'll   
tell you! I was with Zelgadis dear last night…talking."  
  
"Talking?" they all asked skeptically.  
  
"Yes, talking!" she stated. "I'll have you know that Zelgadis dear is a true   
gentleman and a romantic! One doesn't need to be…intimate…to convey intimacy!" She   
concentrated on flipping the egg over. "After all, once a man and a woman have   
expressed…feelings…for one another….there's no rush at all." It was obvious to   
everyone present that she was now just blathering incoherently. "Two people can express   
those emotions by simply…kissing…or holding one another…or…with soft caresses…"   
She paused and shivered as she remembered it.  
  
Naga arched an eyebrow and turned to Xellos, whispering. "Jeez, Stony's never   
going to get any at this rate…"  
  
"I think it's sweet!" Achi cried defensively. "If Mister Zelgadis and Oneechan are   
happy together, that should be the end of it!"  
  
"Thank you, Achi."  
  
"Even if she is a prude…"  
  
Sylphiel hit the floor. Climbing to her feet, she quickly placed the egg on the tray   
and carried it out the door with a huff.  
  
The three waited for a second before breaking out into laughter.  
  
  
  
Sylphiel heard them laughing behind her but paid it no heed. It didn't matter what   
they thought anyway. What mattered was that Zelgadis dear was waiting for her. She   
opened the barn door with her elbow and smiled as she stepped inside.  
  
It was empty.  
  
She blinked. Where was Zelgadis dear?  
  
"I guess he stood you up," she heard behind her. She turned and found Naga   
standing there.   
  
"Where did he go?" the shrine maiden whispered, more to herself than anyone   
else.   
  
"I'm sure he just stepped out for a minute," Naga assured her, closing the door   
behind her. She smiled. It had occurred to her that this new situation presented an   
opportunity to cause a small…diversion…to keep Zelgadis and Sylphiel from interfering   
while she looked for the treasure.  
  
It wasn't anything *BAD*…just…sneaky.  
  
As she watched Sylphiel turn different shades of red in the kitchen, it had dawned   
on her just what Sylphiel was…  
  
A very traditional…very lady-like…very *naïve*…  
  
Virgin.  
  
Sylphiel looked up to find Naga barely an inch from her. "So…" Naga began   
innocently enough, "No souffle?"  
  
The shrine maiden cleared her throat and blushed.   
  
"Tell me, child," Naga grinned, "Didn't you want to?"  
  
"I'm sure he just stepped out," Sylphiel said and made for the door. Naga took her   
by the elbow. "Didn't your mother ever give you 'The Talk' when you were growing up?"  
  
"My mother died when I was six," Sylphiel breathed quietly.  
  
Naga's face fell. "I was only a little older when my mom died," she told her.   
Neither spoke for a moment. Naga smiled. "Allow me to be her surrogate!"  
  
Sylphiel blinked. "What do you mean?"  
  
The White Serpent took her and sat her down on a bale of hay, placing the tray of   
food between them. She poured Sylphiel a cup of tea and handed it to her.   
  
"Child," she began, "When a woman wishes to fully express the depth of her love   
for the man of her dreams, there is something she must do…"  
  
Sylphiel paid close attention as Naga continued on.  
  
  
  
"I'm afraid I don't understand," Zelgadis told the priestess.  
  
Zuanna tried to think of a better way to explain it as she walked down the road.   
"The mountain is the home of our holy garden. There is nothing else up there. I don't know   
who told you of this weapon, but they were mistaken."  
  
"That's not possible," Zelgadis told her. "I'm living proof of it. Something is   
keeping magic from working on this island!"  
  
"Of course," Zuanna told him plainly. "The will of the gods. They keep us safe   
from the Great Wind Dragon."  
  
"There has to be more," Zelgadis told her. "Something. Anything!" A slight   
aftershock at that moment gave him an idea. "A cave in! Have you ever heard of or seen   
evidence of an avalanche or cave in?"  
  
"None," Zuanna assured him.  
  
Zelgadis reached up and pulled at his brown hair in frustration. "I don't believe   
this."  
  
"You were up there," Zuanna pointed out. "You saw for yourself. We have no   
secret weapon. Only the garden. I suppose you could call that magical, if a different kind   
of magic. The mountain provides the trees that provides the fruit of our salvation."  
  
"What do you mean?" he asked.  
  
Zuanna smiled. "The holy fruit. It's a part of the gods. We take it into ourselves   
on our holy days, and it protects us, allows the power of the gods to keep us safe and   
hidden from the evil of the Dragon King."  
  
"That's fine for a religion, but it doesn't really help me much…"  
  
Zuanna's face fell. "I'm sorry, Mister Zelgadis. Perhaps your answer lies   
elsewhere."  
  
"Like where?"  
  
She blinked. "I know! We'll pray for answers!"  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
Before he could react, Zuanna grabbed his hand and dragged him down to his knees   
next to her, right in the middle of the road. She clasped her hands in front of her and closed   
her eyes as she began to pray. "Great God, giver of light!"  
  
"Oh my god…" Zelgadis muttered.  
  
"Please grant Mister Zelgadis the answers he seeks!"  
  
"Please get me the hell out of here," he muttered under his breath.  
  
"GRANT HIM KNOWLEDGE, OH GREAT GOD!"  
  
"Grant him an escape plan," he echoed quietly…  
  
She was silent for several moments.  
  
"Now what?" he asked.  
  
"We wait for God to give you knowledge," she told him.  
  
"How long does that take?"  
  
"I have no idea," she replied.  
  
He sighed. He didn't have time for this. Were all elves this utterly dense? Maybe   
it was the diet.   
  
(Heh…Holy fruit causes stupidity.) He smiled inwardly. (What kind of fruit is   
that, anyway?) he wondered. He had seen a good part of the world, and he had never seen   
anything like it. (The way the elves go on about, you'd think it really was God's fruit.   
Protection indeed…)  
  
He blinked.  
  
The trees were awfully important to them, important enough to kill for by the way   
they conducted his trial. And the elf that had attacked him at Inverse seemed to somehow   
carry the island's powers with him…  
  
Zelgadis blinked as it finally dawned on him…  
  
"The trees," he whispered. "They were using the trees…"  
  
  
  
"And that's when you know he's done!" Naga announced in conclusion.   
  
Sitting on the hay bale across from her, Sylphiel placed a shaking tea cup back on   
its saucer, the sound of the two porcelain objects clanking together could be heard   
throughout the barn. The shrine maiden was pale now, the blood having drained from her   
face. She put her hands in her lap and continued to shake.  
  
(Quivering in anticipation and want,) Naga thought proudly. (That should take care   
of the two of them.)  
  
"It…um…sounds…er…." Sylphiel struggled through her fear. "I mean…"  
  
"It's all right, Child," Naga waved away the perceived thanks. "You needn't thank   
me."  
  
"Miss Naga…are you…um…*certain* …that all women do this?"  
  
"Oh, yes! Of course! Sometimes even two women or two men get together and…"  
  
Sylphiel turned green. "Thank you!" she said quickly, raising a hand to stop her.   
"I…I think I see…"  
  
Naga grinned. "It's okay to be a little nervous," she assured the shrine maiden,   
who was closer to being scared out of her mind than just a little nervous. "You'll enjoy it.   
Trust me. And after all, it's what *he* wants."  
  
Sylphiel swallowed nervously.  
  
"And, I should point out," Naga whispered, pointing out the window. "There are   
others waiting…"  
  
Sylphiel turned and saw Adara hanging up laundry not far away. She looked back   
to Naga in shocked fear. "You mean…she would…Zelgadis dear?"  
  
The White Serpent nodded sagely. "If she thought she could get your Zelgadis dear   
away from you, she most certainly would….the slut…" she threw in.  
  
"Wh…What should I do?" Sylphiel asked.  
  
Naga grinned. If this had been going any smoother, she'd swear it was a dream.   
"Well," she began conspiratorially, "First you find him…"  
  
"Right…"  
  
"Then kiss him and take him somewhere private…"  
  
Sylphiel started to turn red again.  
  
"And then refer to lessons one through three that we just went through!"  
  
The shrine maiden started shaking again.  
  
"You're going to have the most wonderful time!"  
  
  
  
Xellos blinked as the barn door opened up and a rather shaken Sylphiel stepped   
outside. "Ah, Miss Sylphiel…are you feeling all right?"  
  
"I'm fine…fine…" Sylphiel told him. "Excuse me." With that, Sylphiel went off   
in search of Zelgadis.  
  
Naga appeared at the door a moment later and watched as Sylphiel walked out of   
earshot. "OOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!"  
  
"Miss Sylphiel doesn't appear to be herself this morning," Xellos noted.  
  
Naga ignored the statement. "Come, priest side-kick of questionable worth!" she   
cried. "We go to find treasure!"  
  
"Just when did I become *your* sidekick?" Xellos asked her.  
  
She turned to him. "It's just the way things are. The shorter person is always the   
sidekick!"  
  
The Mazoku's eye twitched   
  
"First it was Lina, now it's you. Now let's get going! I managed to buy us a few   
hours. Let's use them."  
  
Xellos sighed. Without his powers, this was probably the best lead he had. He   
hefted his staff and followed.  
  
  
  
Sylphiel tried taking a few deep breaths as she went over in her mind again just   
what would happen…according to Naga, anyway…  
  
Okay, it *did* sound…well…a little exciting, but from the way Naga had described   
it, it sounded more like an attack…and what was that bit about chocolate sauce anyway?  
  
She saw Zelgadis not far up the road and stopped dead in her tracks. Her heart was   
beating like a drum. She began to sweat. He saw her and started running towards her.  
  
(Be strong, Sylphiel,) she told herself. (You don't want to lose him, do you?) She   
put on a smile and waited for him to arrive.   
  
In his haste and excitement about his discovery, Zelgadis wasn't careful about   
where he stepped and tripped. Sylphiel cried out in surprise as Zelgadis' weight hit her   
and knocked her to the ground, the human male landing right on top of her.  
  
(Right here?!) her mind cried out. (Outside!? In public!?)  
  
"Sylphiel! Are you all right?!" Zelgadis asked her from his position above her.  
  
The shrine maiden turned a dark crimson color, nodded, and replied with a quiet,   
"Mmm hmm."  
  
Zelgadis rose to his feet and helped her up. "I think I know what the weapon is," he   
told her excitedly. Before he could continue, she kissed him. He blinked, then suddenly   
remembered. "Oh," he said sheepishly. "Breakfast…I forgot. I'm sorry, Sylphiel, but I   
saw Zuanna walking up the road. It seemed like a good time, and…"  
  
"Zelgadis dear, can I ask you something?" she asked.  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Would you like me more if I were to…If I…."  
  
Zelgadis arched an eyebrow in puzzlement.   
  
Sylphiel blushed and leaned up, whispering something into his ear.  
  
Zelgadis sweatdropped and remained silent, turning a shade of red to match   
Sylphiel's.  
  
"Zelgadis dear?" Sylphiel asked.   
  
No reply, he just stared straight ahead.  
  
"Zelgadis dear?" She tried waving her hand in front of his eyes. The chimera   
made no sign. "Zelgadis dear?! Are you okay?!"  
  
Finally, he blinked. "Who gave you that idea!?" he asked.  
  
Sylphiel blushed and turned away slightly. "Well…Naga said…"  
  
"Stop. That in itself explains all of it." He started down the road back towards the   
house. Sylphiel trotted up and fell into step next to him.  
  
"So…you wouldn't…"  
  
"Sylphiel, it's still kind of early for that, isn't it?" he asked uncomfortably.   
  
Sylphiel blinked in shock. "But…It wasn't *my* idea!"  
  
"I'm kind of old fashioned about that kind of thing," Zelgadis continued.  
  
"So am I! I just…"  
  
"I didn't know you had such a dark side, Sylphiel," he commented.  
  
"I do not!"   
  
He smiled.  
  
"AND STOP TEASING ME!" She paused and started to giggle.   
  
Zelgadis actually laughed.   
  
She stopped and stared at him. "What?" he asked as his laughter trailed off.  
  
"I don't think I've ever heard you laugh at something before," she told him.  
  
He stopped and blinked. "Just once," he told her. "When we first arrived here."  
  
She looked at his eyes. They seemed so happy. She took his arm. She wanted to   
hear him laugh some more. "You said something about the weapon."  
  
"Right," he said. "Let's talk inside, over breakfast. I'm starving."  
  
  
  
"I should have thought of something like this to begin with," Zelgadis told them,   
taking a sip of coffee. Sitting next to him, Sylphiel placed a few more pieces of bacon on   
his plate. "It's something Rezo was fond of," he said.  
  
"Meaning?" Adara asked.  
  
"The term he used was, 'biological weapons.'" Zelgadis told them. Achi tensed   
suddenly. "It's when you take a plant or spore and alter it to be used as a weapon, deliver   
venom, disease, that kind of thing."  
  
"I've heard of this," Sylphiel spoke up. "Sometimes, invading armies laying siege   
to a castle would hurl dead animals over the walls so that disease would spread."  
  
Zelgadis shook his head. "It's not quite the same. In that case, it's making use of   
something that already exists. In this one, the elves actually *created* a plant that could   
disrupt magic fields."  
  
"The holy trees?" Adara asked. "But what kind of weapon could a tree make?"  
  
"Actually, it's ingenious," Zelgadis told her. He looked down at his empty plate   
and placed a sausage in the middle of it. "Say this sausage is the tree, and this plate is the   
island. With the sausage right in the middle, the effects of the tree affect the entire plate,   
the entire island." He put a few other sausages on the edges of his plate. "If you add a few   
more, the affects would spread out to encompass more land, the entire table perhaps."  
  
"Why a tree?" Sylphiel asked. "Why something so difficult to move or carry?"  
  
"I think it has to do with the fruit," he said. "The fruit falls from the tree and is   
eaten by a bird or a rat. Then the seeds in the fruit are carried and left in the animal's   
droppings. A new tree would grow, and another splotch of land would be affected." He   
emphasized this by placing another sausage farther away from the plate.  
  
"Before long, there wouldn't be a single untouched area of land in the whole   
world!" Sylphiel concluded.  
  
"Well…then how come there aren't a bunch of holy trees all over this island?"   
Adara asked.   
  
"I don't know," Zelgadis told them. "Maybe it's the climate here."  
  
Sylphiel blinked as she realized something. "Zelgadis dear! The elf you fought at   
Inverse! He was immune to magic! Do you think…"  
  
He nodded. Zuanna told me that by taking the fruit into themselves, the protection   
of the gods goes with them. I take that to mean that they eat the fruit…"  
  
"Every week," Adara said with a nod.   
  
"So, if *you* ate a piece of the fruit, wouldn't you…."  
  
Zelgadis thought for a moment. "Maybe, then again, the elves we fought had been   
eating it for hundreds of years. It might not take just one."  
  
"Then we'll try more!" Sylphiel cried. "Until it does work!" She got out of her   
chair and ran to where she had placed her bag the other day. "I know I had some…" she   
muttered.   
  
"I threw those out," Adara said sheepishly. They all looked at her. "Having holy   
fruit on an unholy day is forbidden!" she explained defensively.   
  
"Then we'll go get more," Sylphiel stated solemnly. "Achi, do you know where   
Mister Xellos and Miss Naga went?" She turned.  
  
Achi wasn't there.  
  
Sylphiel blinked. "Where did she go?"  
  
  
  
Naga picked a piece of fruit off the tree and tossed it up and down as she looked   
over the garden. She took a breath. "This…"  
  
"SUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!"  
  
The echo of her cry reverberated off the cavern walls. She reached out and   
grabbed Xellos by the front of his robes. "Okay, side-kick!" she growled. "Where the   
hell is this treasure you told us about?!"  
  
Xellos scratched his head. "Did I say there was a treasure?"  
  
"YES! YOU SAID SYLPHIEL WOULD GET HER MONEY BACK AND   
THOUSANDS MORE!"  
  
Xellos hmm'd in thought. "I guess I did imply some sort of monetary reward,   
didn't I? Oh well! My bad!"  
  
"Your bad?" Naga hissed. "YOUR BAD?!" She growled and threw him to the   
ground. Xellos stood up and dusted himself off.   
  
"You know," he said, "I doubt very much a treasure would be out in plain   
sight…assuming there is one." He looked over a short boulder as he said this.  
  
"You know," Naga whispered, "I'm getting pretty tired of your wise, old sage act.   
I think I might just ki…"  
  
At that time, Xellos tapped the boulder with the end of his staff. The boulder   
cracked, and a one inch mask of rock fell off the front, revealing a glittering sheet of rock   
beneath.  
  
"KISS YOU!" Naga finished, rushing up to the boulder. She wrapped her arms   
around the rock and kissed the glittering part.  
  
Xellos hmm'd again. "Orihalcon," he whispered. "That explains part of it. This   
whole mountain must be rife with it."  
  
Naga was busy kissing the rock.  
  
"But orihalcon doesn't have this kind of effect on the world around it. There's   
something more," the trickster priest mused.  
  
Naga stood up, threw her head back, and, "OOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!"   
Xellos just gave her a surprised look. "Now that that's done, we can relax!" She raised   
the fruit to her lips and took a bite.  
  
Her faced turned green. She quickly spit the mouthful out and began to wretch.   
  
"UGH! THAT'S DISGUSTING!" she cried.  
  
"Is it tasty?" Xellos asked.  
  
"It's hideous!" Naga complained, cleaning out her mouth with a rag. "Ick! Forget   
lunch. Let's start thinking about how we're going to move *my* orihalcon off this   
mountain."  
  
"Miss Naga! Mister Xellos!"   
  
They turned and saw Achi huffing up to them, obviously distraught. "What is it?"   
Naga asked.  
  
Achi stopped and bent over, panting from exhaustion. "It's…It's   
Oneechan!…There was…an accident…She's dying!"  
  
"What?!" was the White Serpent's reply. "But how!?"  
  
Xellos' eyes narrowed.  
  
"A snake bit her!" Achi told them. "Please! You have to help her!"  
  
Naga nodded. She knew a bit about serpent bites. Travelling for years allows one   
to pick up certain tricks. "All right. Let's go."  
  
Achi was still panting. "Go on…ahead…I can't…run anymore…"  
  
"Come on, side-kick! It's rescue time!" Naga ran to the cave and for the exit.  
  
The young girl continued to pant. Xellos circled around her, staring down at her.   
"What are you up to?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
"It's Oneechan…" she panted in reply. "Please…you have to help her…"  
  
"You really do disappoint me, Achi chan," he said with a dangerous smile.   
  
"I'm…not….kidding…"  
  
"Except for one thing," Xellos noted, "Before this island was an island, it was a   
peninsula a thousand miles east with a different climate…"  
  
"So?"  
  
His eyes narrowed. "Zarak Tor wasn't home to any poisonous snakes."  
  
Achi stopped panting. "You and your guidebooks," she muttered in annoyance.  
  
He smiled.  
  
"But you've forgotten something too," she commented.  
  
"And what's that?"  
  
She screamed and lunged at him, her hands going to his midsection! Xellos gasped   
as he felt something cold entering his body.  
  
"You're mortal here, you son of a bitch," she hissed at him. She pulled her hand   
back, revealing the blood soaked steak knife she had pilfered from the kitchen.   
  
Xellos stumbled back and fell on rear, his hand going to the wound in shock.  
  
Achi kicked his staff away and knelt next to him. "Dying sure is different when you   
do it as a mortal, isn't it?" she asked quietly. Xellos didn't reply. "Now stay there and be   
good."  
  
Xellos was in agony. Sure, he had been injured in the past. Gaav had nearly killed   
him, and ValGaav had gotten in a few hits of his own, but this was completely different.   
His body, no longer protected by constantly recycling regeneration, was vulnerable to the   
same physical sensations as humans. He tried to rise, but immediately felt ill and a   
splitting pain in his stomach. He fell again. Spots appeared before his eyes.  
  
"Orihalcon," Achi noted as she removed her tiny boots. "That's the secret. That's   
why there are only these few trees in this area. Sure, they're powers are incredible, but   
they can only grow in places rich with the ore. That's why they never made it into the   
greater world." She twisted the heel of her boot, and Xellos watched as it came off. "I   
suppose in the right circumstances and with enough research, one could find a way of   
exporting their abilities." She removed a small, red gem from the boot heel. "The elves   
did it without even realizing it. Eat the fruit and you're immune to magic…and   
Mazoku…and Shinzoku." She removed a second stone, then turned her attention to her   
other heel.  
  
"Metallium…thought it would be something like that…" Xellos bit out, trying to   
sound calm and casual. "She knew the weapon must have been incredibly…difficult…to   
main…tain…Which is why the elves gave up…on it…"  
  
Achi removed two more red gems and smiled at him. "How long have we known   
each other, Xellos?" Xellos glared at her. "I remember the day you killed that clan of   
golden dragons. I remember hearing the thoughts of the other Shinzoku when they first   
heard about it. 'How do we fight someone like that?' they used to ask. Who would've   
thought it'd be so easy?"  
  
Xellos tried to smile. "I'm not done quite yet," he assured her.  
  
She showed him the gems. "You will be soon." She placed the gems on the   
ground, forming a square about ten feet wide. "One thing about the Wind Dragon King,"   
she noted, "Is that he's very single minded. He spent the last thousand years perfecting   
these, the only things he could think up to counter Zarak Tor's defenses."  
  
The wounded Mazoku said nothing.  
  
Achi stood in the center of the square and gave him a smile before closing her eyes.   
The gems began to sparkle and crackle with electricity. Xellos gasped as he saw a light   
begin to form around Achi. She looked up at the sky, and a ray of light shot from her   
forehead.  
  
Achi's powers had returned to her.  
  
  
  
Zelgadis blinked as Adara latched onto his arm. "Zel-Ga-Diiiiiis!" she sang. "I   
happen to know this spring nearby that's just perfect for a picnic! What do you say you and   
I have lunch, and we'll just catch up to Miss Sylphiel farther up the mountain?"   
  
Walking on the other side of Zelgadis, Sylphiel actually found herself growling low   
in her throat. Who was this woman to be throwing herself at *her* Zelgadis dear? She,   
Zelgadis, and Adara were carrying packs on their backs, intent on bringing back some of   
the holy fruit. They were almost to the garden now,  
  
"I'm sure Miss Sylphiel wouldn't mind," Adara pointed out. She looked across   
Zelgadis at the shrine maiden. "Wouldn't you, Miss Sylphiel?"  
  
The normally meek and even tempered woman grit her teeth. She had known him   
the longest. She had fought next to him. Hell, she had *slept* with him!   
  
Zelgadis noticed that Sylphiel was suddenly showing a blue battle aura.   
"Um…Sylphiel?"  
  
She wanted to throttle that elf. For some odd reason she couldn't explain, she had   
this overwhelming urge to beat the life out of that…that…THAT WOMAN!  
  
Zelgadis saw the shrine maiden begin to shake and sweatdropped. In desperation,   
he tried to change the subject. "Err…Adara, what do your people know about the   
continental shelf?"  
  
Adara blinked in puzzlement. "Shelf?"  
  
Meanwhile, Sylphiel was still shaking in rage. She just wanted to grab Zelgadis   
dear right there, kiss him right in front of Adara, and then stick her tongue out at the haughty   
elf huntress….That'd show her…  
  
"Your island seems to be right on the very edge of it. Has anyone ever actually   
looked to see how far away from the edge you are?" Zelgadis asked her.  
  
"No," Adara shrugged. "The water tends to be deeper at the north end. That's   
why we fish there and keep our boats there. The south end is more shallow."  
  
"You must be right on the very edge then," Zelgadis mused. "That could be   
trouble…"  
  
(Sylphiel! Get ahold of yourself! They're having a conversation!) She blinked and   
looked up. Sure enough, Zelgadis was telling Adara about how their proximity to the edge   
of the shelf could be what was causing the aftershocks and explaining it to her using the   
same kitchen table metaphor he had used with her.  
  
"Zelgadis dear," she said, returning to her usual self. "Perhaps we should stop for   
lunch. I made your favorite." She held up her knapsack containing what she hoped was   
Zelgadis' favorite sandwich.   
  
"Just put it down and move on," Adara instructed her with a wave, not even turning   
to look at Sylphiel as she gazed up at Zelgadis' eyes.  
  
Green fire flashed into Sylphiel's eyes. Okay, she had never felt like this when   
Gourry had spent time with Lina, true. But Lina had a more pleasant personality, and   
Gourry had never been really *HERS*.   
  
(Dear Cepheid,) she prayed. (I've never asked you for much, but I would really   
appreciate it if a mountain fell on Miss Adara right now.)  
  
She sighed. It was wrong to pray for such things. She was a shrine maiden of   
Sairaag…She knew better than that…  
  
(Dear Cepheid, please cancel my last prayer. Just please do *something* to end   
this scene…)  
  
"HEY!"  
  
"Miss Naga!" Sylphiel cried, waving as she saw the White Serpent running down   
the mountain path towards them. "Look, everyone!" she cried thankfully. "Miss Naga is   
here!"  
  
(Dear Cepheid,) she prayed, (Thank you so much for sending Miss Naga to foil the   
lecherous schemes of said elf. I really do appre….)  
  
Without warning, Naga tackled Sylphiel to the floor! The shrine maiden cried out   
in shock and fell on her back. Naga reached down and removed Sylphiel's boots.   
Zelgadis and Adara looked on in shock.  
  
"Where did he bite you?" Naga asked the shocked Sylphiel. "I have to suck it   
out."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"Oh, you have no idea how relieved I am to be hearing this," Adara said with a   
sigh. "I didn't realize you two were involved. I feel so much better!" With that, the elf   
glomped onto Zelgadis.  
  
"Just a moment!" Sylphiel cried, trying to stand up. Naga grabbed her and pinned   
her down again.   
  
(Dear Cepheid. You suck. Sincerely, Sylphiel Nels Lahda, Shrine Maiden of   
Sairaag….)  
  
"Stop moving around!" Naga chastised her. "It'll take longer that way!"  
  
"Let go of me!" the priestess cried in alarm, suddenly remembering what Naga had   
said about two women during her 'lesson.'  
  
"Don't struggle! The venom will move faster!"  
  
Sylphiel stopped and blinked. "Venom?!"  
  
"What are you talking about, Naga?" Zelgadis asked, trying to disengage Adara   
from his arm to avoid Sylphiel's pain-filled look.  
  
Naga sat up. "Achi told us you were bit by a snake and needed help," she   
supplied.   
  
"I'm fine," Sylphiel told her. She got up and calmly walked over to Zelgadis,   
reaching out and taking his arm. Adara glared at her.  
  
"I don't understand," the sorceress told them. "Why would Achi lie to us?" She   
turned. "Do you know anything about this, side-k…" She blinked, then frowned. "Where   
did he go?"  
  
Suddenly, a bright light flew from the mountain into the sky, forming a pillar of   
light. They looked at it in awe.  
  
"What is that?!" Adara cried, clinging to Zelgadis.  
  
Zelgadis' eyes narrowed. "It's a magic beacon," he growled. He started running   
up the path. "Damn you, Xellos!"   
  
The others followed.  
  
  
  
Xellos began to crawl towards Achi. If he could get within the square formed by   
those gems, he'd have his powers back. He stuck a hand out, trying to reach past the   
borderline of the gems, but a blast of electricity from Achi's outstretched hand struck the   
ground next to it, still within the barrier. Xellos yelped and withdrew his hand.  
  
Achi didn't even open her eyes as she let her hand fall. "Not so fast," she told him   
simply, concentrating on the beacon.  
  
He eyed the magic zone as blood dribbled from his wound and between his fingers.   
He didn't have much choice. He had to try.  
  
"ACHI!"  
  
He turned and saw Zelgadis, Naga, Sylphiel, and Adara at the entranceway, staring   
at the scene in shock.  
  
Achi didn't open her eyes. "Stay back, Oneechan," she said. "This has nothing to   
do with you."  
  
"Zelgadis dear! Help me get her out of that!" Sylphiel ordered, running towards   
them.  
  
"Wait!" Xellos tried to warn them.  
  
The two humans rushed forward. Achi furrowed her brow and reached out. An   
energy beam shot from her hand and struck Zelgadis just as he was crossing the border into   
the field, throwing him back twenty feet.   
  
"Zelgadis!" Adara cried, rushing to him.  
  
Before Achi could get a bead on Sylphiel, the shrine maiden had a hold of her arm.   
She gasped in shock, her eyes went wide as electricity seemed to spark between them.   
  
"SYLPHIEL!" Zelgadis shouted from the ground.  
  
"What's going on!?" Adara cried in puzzlement.  
  
Naga was bending over Xellos, trying to treat his wound. Xellos watched in   
growing realization. He had an idea what was going on.  
  
  
  
"What?! What is this place?! Where am I?!"  
  
"Welcome, Oneechan."  
  
"Achi chan?! What is this?! What's going on?!"  
  
In the blackness, a small dot of light appeared. Sylphiel 'walked' towards it,   
though she wasn't sure how. She couldn't even see her own feet.  
  
"I'm sorry I can't be more hospitable," Achi's voice seemed to come from   
everywhere. "I'm afraid most of my power is being used for my other task." The dot of   
light grew bigger, and soon Achi was standing there before her.  
  
"What's going on, Achi chan?" Sylphiel asked in general wonderment. "What is   
this place?"  
  
"This," Achi said, waving at the expanse around her, "Is me. My mind."  
  
"But…how?" the shrine maiden asked.  
  
"You caught me by surprise, Oneechan," Achi told her seriously. "I didn't realize   
you were quite that powerful. When you touched me, you somehow entered the link   
between my mind and my king."  
  
"King?" Sylphiel whispered.  
  
Achi smiled. "The Wind Dragon King, of course."  
  
"But…you're just a child," Sylphiel whispered in shock.  
  
Achi grinned. "I'm a very mature three thousand year old," she said.   
  
"You're one of the Shinzoku," the shrine maiden whispered in surprised   
realization.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You're here for the weapon."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What about the elves?!" Sylphiel cried. "Last time, the Wind Dragon King nearly   
killed them all!"  
  
Achi paused. "That's none of my concern. I obey my orders, Oneechan. It's all I   
have."  
  
"You tricked us," Sylphiel whispered. "Used me to get here, didn't you?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Sylphiel marched toward Achi angrily. "I won't let you hurt them anymore!" she   
told the Shinzoku. "How many of these poor people grew up without parents because of   
the Wind Dragon King?! What right does he have to hurt them?!"  
  
"We have the right to preserve our race!" Achi hurled back at her. "Why do you   
think Xellos is here?! He's here to take the weapon himself!"  
  
"But he's not doing something that will kill everyone here!" Sylphiel shot back.   
"If the Wind Dragon King comes, what do you think he'll do?!"  
  
"Whatever he has to to make sure the Mazoku are *never* in a position to threaten   
us!"  
  
"And what about the innocent people in the way!?"  
  
"Casualties of a war that's been going on for more than a thousand years,   
Oneechan."  
  
Sylphiel shook her head. "Unacceptable! I *will* stop you!" She took a step   
towards Achi, who took a step back in fear. Sylphiel stopped and blinked. She was in   
Achi's mind, why would she run?  
  
Unless…  
  
"You're vulnerable like this, aren't you?" Sylphiel whispered. "I'm not supposed   
to be here," she said in realization. "Am I?"  
  
"Listen to me, Oneechan," Achi began, ducking the question. "We don't have to be   
enemies. The Wind Dragon King is just trying to help all of us. He'll use the trees to   
defeat the Mazoku! Wouldn't that be a *good* thing? For the greatest evil in history to be   
wiped out?"  
  
"And kill innocent people? That's just one evil replacing another." She took   
another step toward the girl.  
  
"Wait!" Achi hissed. "Just…wait. Turn around, Oneechan. Turn around, and…"   
She stopped. "The Wind Dragon King can be *very* generous to his allies," she told the   
shrine maiden. She held up a red gem and tossed it to her. Sylphiel caught it without   
thinking.   
  
A flash of light overcame her. She shut her eyes to escape it. When she opened   
them again…  
  
She was sitting on a blanket in the middle of a field. The sun was out and shining   
brightly above her. There was a lake nearby, blue and inviting. An open book sat on her   
stomach as if she had been reading and had decided to break for a few moments.   
  
Why would Achi send her here?  
  
"Mama!"  
  
She looked and blinked in shock as two young girls no older than twelve, one with   
light purple hair like hers only in curls and another with light brown hair ran up to her.   
  
"Mama! Amelia pushed me!" the one with purple hair cried, pointing at the other   
girl  
  
"Lina called me stupid, Mama!" the brown haired one cried in response.   
  
Sylphiel just blinked. "Um…" she began. "Neither one of you should be doing   
things like that," she tried.   
  
"But Mama!" they both cried at once.  
  
"Oi! You two shouldn't be bothering your mother with such things!" Sylphiel   
looked up to see Zelgadis, still in human form, and a young boy walking up to them.   
  
The two girls sighed. "Yes, Papa…"  
  
"Now go play. But don't wander far. We'll be leaving soon." The two girls ran   
off to play tag.  
  
Zelgadis smiled down at her. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"I'm…I'm fine, Zelgadis dear," she whispered. "Just confused."  
  
He smiled and patted her hand. "I'll start packing up."  
  
"Let me help," she began. She started to get up, but found it very difficult to rise to   
her feet. She looked down and removed the book from her stomach, only to find her   
abdomen bulging. She placed her hand there and was shocked to feel something kick from   
within it. She looked up at the children playing in the field nearby and the small boy   
helping Zelgadis pack up their picnic.  
  
That's when it dawned on her.  
  
"They're all mine," she whispered. "Mine and Zelgadis dear's."  
  
"I can make this happen," she heard. She turned and saw Achi standing next to her.   
"All of it. I can make sure Zelgadis remains human. I can even make sure he's desperate   
to spend the rest of his life with you."  
  
Sylphiel jumped in startlement as the whole scene disappeared around her to be   
replaced by the blackness again. Achi was the only thing to remain.   
  
"I can give you your fondest dreams, Oneechan," Achi told her. "And all you have   
to do is turn around, shut your mouth, and walk away."  
  
Sylphiel looked at her in shock.  
  
"Just walk away, Oneechan," Achi told her quietly.  
  
She wanted to. She wanted to be selfish. This one time she wanted to just forget   
about all of it except her happiness. Doing the right thing had only resulted in her losing   
her father, her home, all her friends, and had all but condemned her to a life alone.   
Wouldn't it, just this once, be okay to let someone else worry about it? Someone like   
Lina?  
  
Or Zelgadis dear?  
  
What about him? How many times had he given up the cure to his curse to do what   
was right? That was why they were here, wasn't it? To cure him? Why should anything   
else distract them from that?  
  
For the same reason it had distracted Zelgadis before.  
  
Sylphiel closed her eyes and raised her hands.  
  
Achi shook her head and frowned. "Don't do it, Oneechan," she whispered.  
  
"Flare…" Sylphiel croaked out.   
  
"I've seen the future," Achi told her, in one last gamble. "HE'LL NEVER BE   
HUMAN!"  
  
Sylphiel swallowed back grief and allowed a single tear to escape her eye.  
  
"ARROW!"  
  
The fire bolt struck the mental image of Achi right in the chest. Achi's eyes flew   
open.  
  
"Never be human," the Shinzoku whispered again.  
  
The reality around them shattered like glass. Sylphiel fell to the ground. When she   
opened her eyes again, she found Zelgadis looking down at her, a look of deep concern in   
his eyes.  
  
"Sylphiel?! Are you okay?! Answer me!"  
  
Tears formed in her eyes. "Zelgadis dear!" she cried and embraced him, crying   
into his tunic.  
  
Lying not far away, Achi was still breathing, but unconscious. For some reason,   
Naga and Adara couldn't wake her up. The red gems that had allowed her to use her   
powers were black and charred, apparently overloaded.  
  
Xellos was leaning against a rock, his midsection bandaged. He watched the scene   
unfold. "Yareyare," he whispered to himself, looking forlornly at Achi's sleeping form.   
"She should have been born Mazoku," he whispered regretfully to himself.  
  
  
  
"I'm sorry," Sylphiel weeped into Zelgadis' tunic. "I'm so sorry…"  
  
Zelgadis didn't say anything. He held her and stroked her hair, allowing her to cry   
it out.   
  
"Could someone tell me what just happened?" Adara asked in annoyance.  
  
No one answered her. The ground began to shake a little as another aftershock   
rocked the island. Naga reached down and pocketed one of the gems.   
  
A thunderclap roared overhead.  
  
"That's odd. It didn't look like rain before," Adara noted quietly.  
  
Sylphiel's eyes went wide. Her grip on Zelgadis tightened. "No," she whispered.  
  
Clouds began to converge in the sky above them.  
  
"A hurricane?" Naga asked, raising her voice to be heard over the wind. She   
turned to ask Xellos what he thought and found the wounded priest staring at the sky, his   
eyes wide and his teeth grit in either anger…or fear.  
  
Another thunderclap roared above them.  
  
"Zelgadis dear!" Sylphiel whispered urgently. "We have to get out of here!"  
  
"It's okay, Sylphiel," he told her, trying to calm her down. "It's just a storm."  
  
"You don't understand! We have to leave! We have to get off this island!   
Quickly!" she cried, rising unsteadily to her feet.  
  
"But…" Zelgadis began.  
  
"Miss Sylphiel is right," Xellos grunted as he rose to his feet with the aid of his   
staff and Naga. "We must leave…now."  
  
Zelgadis looked at him in shocked awe. *Xellos* wanted to leave?  
  
"But…But…But…" Naga whimpered. "MY ORIHALCON!"  
  
"Leave it!" Xellos growled at her. Lightning flashed above them, bolts of   
electricity merging together.  
  
Sylphiel tried walking, but was still very weak. Zelgadis supported her. "No.   
Please, Zelgadis dear, carry Achi."  
  
Zelgadis picked up the child while Adara supported Sylphiel. "Wait," Adara said.   
"What about the holy fruit?"  
  
"There's no time," Xellos told them. "Hurry!" He cried as he and Naga, still   
pocketing pieces of orihalcon, started to hobble away.  
  
Sylphiel stopped and turned. "No, she's right! We can't leave it!" She tried   
walking and nearly collapsed. She looked up to see that Zelgadis had caught her, carrying   
Achi over his shoulder.  
  
"We'll come back," he told her.  
  
"You…you don't understand," Sylphiel whispered, her eyes drooping. "It…it…"  
  
(Won't be here,) she tried saying the words, but faded into unconsciousness before   
they could form on her lips.  
  
Another thunderclap above them heralded rain, and soon, they were all drenched.  
  
"Adara," Xellos huffed painfully. "We need a boat."  
  
"We have a fishing fleet at the north end of the island," the elf told him.  
  
"How big is it?"  
  
"Not that big, but they're all good, elf-crafted boats," she announced proudly.  
  
"Adara," Sylphiel whispered, coming to. "You…you have to go back to the   
village…Warn them…"  
  
Another quake shook them. Thunder roared overhead.  
  
"Warn them about what?" Adara asked. "The storm? They all know by now and   
are probably…"  
  
"No," Sylphiel breathed quietly, barely audible over the now roaring wind. "It's   
not a storm."  
  
"Then what is it?" Naga asked.  
  
"It's the Wind Dragon King," Xellos said simply. The others turned to him in   
shock. Xellos looked at them, his expression grave. "It appears that despite Miss   
Sylphiel's efforts…Achi's message got through."  
  
Another thunderclap seemed to emphasize this. The wind began to blow harder.  
  
They turned and looked back at the cave.   
  
It wouldn't be long now.  
  
  
  
To Be Continued…  
  
Send CC to Davner! ^_^ \/  
  
Doscher009@hotmail.com  
  



	7. Storm! Victory Will Be Ours!

Disclaimer: Slayers belongs to Kadokawa Shoten.  
  
  
Slayers: Faces  
Part 7  
Storm!  
Victory Will Be Ours!  
  
  
  
Thunder roared overhead. The wind blew a little faster announcing the coming of rain. Zelgadis   
looked up at the sky and digested what Xellos had just told them.  
  
Adara looked at the Mazoku in shock. "The Wind Dragon King is coming here?!"  
  
"It would appear so," Xellos told her with a weary smile.  
  
"Wake up, Achi," Zelgadis ordered, giving the child-like goddess a light slap on the cheek.   
"C'mon. Wake up." Achi didn't respond in the slightest.  
  
Another boom screamed overhead.  
  
"I have to warn them," Adara said quietly. "I have to warn the others!"   
  
"Adara, wait!" Zelgadis commanded.   
  
The elf huntress turned to him. "I can't just stand by and let them…"  
  
"We won't. I'll go with you."  
  
Sylphiel's eyes went wide. "What?" she asked in a weakened voice.  
  
Zelgadis turned to the injured Xellos. "Xellos, you're human and you're injured; so don't think for   
a second that I can't beat the life out of you right here if you lie to me. What's going to happen now?"  
  
Xellos thought for a moment. "If the Wind Dragon King is as persistent and as anal as he was a   
thousand years ago, he'll try to take the island."  
  
"He wants the trees," Sylphiel told them weakly. "He won't risk destroying them."  
  
Zelgadis thought on this for a moment. "And the elves?" he asked Xellos.  
  
"The elves are more than just an annoyance. They're a symbol of his defeat. If he can wipe them   
out while at the same time securing the island for himself, he will." Rarely was Xellos' voice as grave as   
it was now.  
  
The chimera assessed the situation and came up with a plan. "Sylphiel, can you walk?" At the   
shrine maiden's nod, he continued. "Naga, take Xellos, Sylphiel, and Achi to the north end of the island   
and take a boat." Sylphiel blinked in shock at hearing this. "Go out beyond the tree's effects and…"  
  
"I'm not leaving," Sylphiel stated firmly. "Zelgadis dear! I can't let you make this sacrifice   
alone!"  
  
Zelgadis smiled. "What sacrifice?" Sylphiel stared at him dumbly. "Once you're outside of the   
tree's effects, you can heal yourself, and I think Xellos will be fine as well." Xellos only nodded at this.   
"Then come back to the village. Adara and I will warn them."  
  
"Then what?" Adara asked. "We can't stand against the Dragon!"  
  
"If your people enjoy life, they'll have to leave the island," Xellos told her. "Do you have enough   
ships for that?"  
  
"I…I don't know!" Adara cried. "Maybe…"  
  
"We don't have much time," Zelgadis reminded them.   
  
"Then we should start now," Naga announced, taking Achi from Zelgadis.  
  
"Follow this road all the way to the beach. You'll be able to see our ships there. You should be   
able to find one of the smaller boats without a problem," Adara told them.  
  
Naga smiled. "Ah, the life of a sailor! OOOOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!"  
  
"Adara, come on," Zelgadis ordered.  
  
"Zelgadis dear!"  
  
The chimera turned human stopped and turned at the voice. Sylphiel walked up and stood before   
him. She blushed and looked down at the ground, painfully aware that three pairs of eyes were on them.   
She waited for them to get the hint and turn away, but they continued to look on. The shrine maiden began   
to fidget.  
  
"Kiss him, stupid!" Naga cried suddenly.  
  
Without even thinking, Sylphiel leaned up and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him and   
holding the former chimera as tightly as her weakened state would allow. Adara gasped quietly at the   
sight and sighed.  
  
Naga and Xellos began to golf clap, lightly tapping their fingers against the palms of their other   
hand.  
  
Sylphiel broke the kiss and stepped away. "I'll be back," she told him quietly.  
  
Zelgadis smiled and turned. "Come on, Adara!"  
  
The two started back towards the village.  
  
"Hmmph!" Xellos sniffed. "He didn't say goodbye."  
  
Sylphiel sighed and started for the north shore.  
  
  
  
"Hmmph!" Adara sniffed. "Imagine the nerve! Taking advantage of the situation like that! For   
shame, Miss Sylphiel! For shame!"   
  
Running alongside her, Zelgadis sweatdropped.  
  
"You should demand an apology," the elf counseled him. "Sexual harassment is a very real and   
damaging phenomenon, and isn't to be taken lightly!"  
  
"I'll…um…think on that," Zelgadis said uncomfortably.  
  
"You…um…didn't…enjoy it…Did you?" Adara asked.  
  
"Well…"  
  
"OH MY GODS! YOU DID!" Adara wept.  
  
"Um…"  
  
"Well, fine!" Adara spat. "Two can play this game! Next time we're facing certain death and   
destruction at the hands of the Shinzoku, I'll kiss you right in front of her! That'll show her!"  
  
"Let's split up!" Zelgadis suggested with a sigh as they entered the village common. "You round   
up as many people as you can and tell them what's happening. I'll find the sheriff."  
  
She nodded and ran for where every elf man in Zarak Tor went in the late afternoon; the local pub.  
  
Zelgadis started running for the sheriff's office and found his former captors looking up at the sky,   
commenting on the weather.   
  
"Sheriff," Zelgadis began, panting. Usually, his demon abilities made running such a distance   
easy. Now that he was human…   
  
"Ah, Zelgadis," the Sheriff greeted him. "Still here?"  
  
"What kind of emergency plans do you have for escaping the island?" Zelgadis asked without   
preamble.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"An evacuation?!" Zelgadis reiterated.   
  
The sheriff scratched his head. "Ain't got one of those…"  
  
Zelgadis sighed. "Sheriff, I want you to listen to me very carefully…"  
  
  
  
Adara entered the pub, already full of laughing men there to ride out the storm, took a deep   
breath…  
  
And screamed at the top of her lungs.  
  
Every head in the bar turned to her in shock.  
  
"Ahem…Now that I have your attention…" she began demurely.   
  
"Adara! What's going on?!" her father, Atlin, asked from behind the bar.  
  
"Father!" Adara cried, running up to him. "There's well…a   
teeny…weeny…tiny…itsy…bitsy…little problem…" she said.  
  
"Well?" Atlin asked.  
  
Adara took a breath. "YouseeourhouseguestAchiturnedouttoreallybeaspyfortheShinzoku  
AndnowtheWindDragonKingiscomingheretotaketheholytreesbecausethat'swhat's  
curingDearZelgadis'curseandaccordingtoDearZelgadiswehaveaboutthreehourstolive!"  
  
Atlin stared at her while she tried to catch her breath. "So what you're saying is that we've got   
shit?"  
  
"YES!" Adara cried.  
  
"WE GOT SHIT!" Atlin shouted at the other elves in the pub. He walked out from behind the bar   
and removed his apron. Walking over to the fireplace, he reached up and removed the heavy axe he kept   
there….  
  
  
  
Xellos gasped suddenly as he felt a sudden surge of power flow through him. He looked down and   
saw the wound in his stomach begin to close on its own. Looking over at Sylphiel, the Mazoku saw that   
the scar on her face was gone. He smiled.   
  
Naga trimmed the sail of the tiny boat as it pitched back and forth in the choppy sea. "You okay?"   
she asked the priest.  
  
"Yes," he said, rising to his feet. "We're far enough out."  
  
Naga nodded and tied off the sail. She turned to Sylphiel, who was tending to the still unconscious   
Achi. "Come here," she told her. Sylphiel obeyed, and Naga began chanting a healing spell. "I'm not   
sure how this will help you," she told the shrine maiden, "But it can't hurt."  
  
"Why isn't she awake?" Sylphiel asked, looking down at Achi.  
  
"She's still breathing," Naga assured her. "I'm sure she'll wake up when she's ready."  
  
Xellos, somewhat less optimistic, didn't add anything. Instead, he reached into his robe and   
removed a small, wooden pen.  
  
Sylphiel saw him do this and blinked. "What are you doing, Mister Xellos?"  
  
Xellos smiled and raised the pen. "Just taking care of some minor correspondence," he told her.   
He began to write in the air. Letters of fire in the Mazoku language hung in the air in front of him. "'Dear   
Metallium…blah…blah…blah…'" he said as he wrote. "'Wind Dragon   
King….blah…blah..blah….Zarak Tor….blah…blah…'" Sylphiel just blinked. "'Going to die…blah…  
blah…blah….Pepperoni and mushrooms…..blah…blah…BLAH! Sincerely….Xellos…'" He smiled.   
"That should do just nicely!" he commented as he reread the fire letters. He reached up and grasped the   
top right and bottom left corners of the page of fire and bent the letter as if it were a regular piece of   
paper. He then scrunched it until it was a small ball of flame floating in his right hand. He bent down and   
blew a short puff of air. The fireball shot into the sky.  
  
Naga and Sylphiel looked on in awe.  
  
"Well," he said, "I believe Zelgadis and Adara are waiting."  
  
"Right!" Sylphiel replied. "Let's get back to the island!"  
  
  
  
"Don't step there!"  
  
Xellos looked down at his feet and stepped to the right, around the trip-wire. Zelgadis was tying   
off another wire. Looking at the ground, Xellos could see portions of a net peeking out of the leaves   
covering it.   
  
"How is everyone?" Zelgadis asked.   
  
("How is Sylphiel?") Xellos translated in his mind. "Fine," he said. "Though Achi is still   
asleep. What are you doing?"  
  
"Adara and the sheriff are getting the villagers together. They're going to get as many to them to   
boats as they can. A few of us are going to slow down whoever the Wind Dragon King sends after them."  
  
"I see," Xellos replied. He poked at the net with his staff. "And you think these little squirrel   
traps will work?"  
  
Zelgadis finished tying off what he was working on and stood up. "The trees level the playing   
field," he told the Mazoku. "Meaning that whatever the Wind Dragon King sends can be killed. Instead of   
being a smartass, maybe you should help."  
  
Xellos sighed and undid the clasp on his robe. "Yareyare…"  
  
  
  
Naga took a sip of lemonade and adjusted her sunglasses as she watched on. Zelgadis, Xellos, and   
three of the elves from the village were working together, pulling a rope attached to a pulley that was   
hoisting a large section of a tree into the air. Xellos had discarded his black robes and was working bare-  
chested. Naga had to admit, her priest side-kick was rather well-built…  
  
"HEAVE!" she yelled at them as they grunted, pulling with all their strength. She took another sip   
of lemonade. "HEAVE!"  
  
As a group, the five men grumbled at her.   
  
"QUIT SLACKING, YOU BIG BABIES!" she yelled at them. "I SAID HEAVE!!"  
  
Finally the tree was high enough, and Zelgadis tied the rope off while they worked on the net.   
"Don't you have anything useful you can be doing?" he asked her.  
  
Naga grimaced. "What?! I'm supervising!" Her cape flapped as another gust of wind struck it.   
"Besides, I've already set up punjee sticks on the other side of town. Your little rabbit traps are all that's   
left."  
  
"How's the evacuation going?" Xellos asked.   
  
"Adara's moving everyone north. The sheriff is handing out bows and knives to anyone willing to   
stay and fight. And Sylphiel and Zuanna have set up an infirmary at the temple."  
  
Zelgadis hissed in pain and looked at his hands. They were raw and blistered. "Dammit," he   
muttered.   
  
"Bet you're missing that stone body now, aren't ya, Stony?" Naga said with a grin.  
  
He growled. "You want to supervise? Fine. I'm going to get some salve for my hands." He   
walked past Naga and started towards town. "You're in charge, I guess."  
  
Naga grinned. "If you say so….OOOOOHOHOHOHOHO!!!" She pointed down at the elves.   
"Okay! You, you, and you! Run those lines into the trees and set up the trip-wires! You! Side-kick!   
Dance for me!"  
  
Zelgadis sighed as he walked. Couldn't things be easy just once? He had left Lina and the others   
to avoid these kinds of entanglements, and now he was once again knee deep in them. Why did he bother?   
It really wasn't his problem. He should be up on the mountain, filling bags with the holy fruit, not   
preparing for a guerilla war.   
  
He entered the elves' temple as he thought on this. He found Sylphiel on the other end of the main   
hall, preparing bandages. She turned at the sound of his entrance.  
  
"Zelgadis dear? Are you all right? Was there an accident? Are they here yet?"  
  
"No," Zelgadis told her. "I think they're still getting ready. I…um…hurt my hands," he said   
lamely, showing her his blistered palms.  
  
She took his wrists and examined them. "Zelgadis dear! You should have been wearing gloves!"   
She pulled him into a nearby room where they intended to put serious patients and shut the door behind   
them. Sitting him down on a small couch, she got some salve and bandages from a table nearby and knelt   
in front of him to treat him.  
  
"I've never used gloves before," he told her simply.  
  
"You've never been human before," she said in reply as she began to apply the healing agent to his   
palms. "You can't keep acting like you're a chimera!" she cried at him.  
  
He blinked, puzzled at her outburst. All he had done was blister his hands a little, and here she   
was almost in tears. "Sylphiel, what's wrong?"  
  
She took a breath and continued working on his palms. "You can't keep taking risks as if you have   
your old body to protect you," she told him. "It's so easy for you to die now," she whispered. "Like when   
you took that arrow to protect me. It was a very heroic thing…"  
  
"You don't have to make a big d…"  
  
"But it was also a stupid thing!" she cut him off. "What if you had died?!"  
  
"What was I supposed to do?" he asked, his eyes narrowing. "Let you get shot?"  
  
"You could have pushed me! Or…or…I don't know…"  
  
"What do you want from me?" he asked her.  
  
She looked up at him as she started to slowly bandage his hands, tears in her eyes. "I want you to   
leave."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I want you to go, Zelgadis dear," she told him urgently. "Take one of the boats and leave with the   
others! You've already done so much. Just this one time, let somebody else do it!"  
  
He sighed. "Normally, I would. But we're the ones who brought this problem here. I'm   
responsible."  
  
She tied off the bandage and took a breath. "You could die out there so easily," she whispered.  
  
"And so could you," he reminded her. "I don't see you rushing to leave."  
  
"I have a duty to help those that need me," she said as if it explained everything.  
  
"This isn't Sairaag, Sylphiel. It's not the same," he whispered to her.   
  
She didn't say anything. She tightened the bandage. "I don't want to lose you, Zelgadis dear," she   
whispered. "Not like I lost everyone else."  
  
He reached out and touched her chin, tilting her head up so that he could look at her green eyes.   
"It's easy," he whispered, "It's easy to die when you have nothing to lose. It's much harder when you're   
fighting for someone."  
  
She reached out and touched his brown hair. Leaning forward, she kissed him, not lightly or   
demurely like before, but urgently, almost desperately, as if the world were ending tomorrow and she had   
only this one last kiss to give him.   
  
Zelgadis reached up with his wounded hands and held her, closing his eyes as they continued to   
kiss. There was still a little time left, and if they were going to die, they had might as well make the most   
of it. He felt her weight press against him as she climbed into the couch with him, never breaking that   
kiss.  
  
Naga could handle things for a few hours, and they did only have a little time left.  
  
Let someone else handle things…just this once.  
  
  
  
Naga looked up at the sky and watched as a bird flew overhead, circling the village. Adara   
walked up to her, her bow slung over her shoulder. She followed Naga's gaze and blinked. "I've never   
seen such a large bird before," she remarked.  
  
The White Serpent's eyes narrowed. "Go get Zelgadis and Xellos," she told Adara. Overhead,   
two more large birds joined the first in its circling. "Tell them it's time."  
  
  
  
The creature that hit the ground near the village stood up to its natural eight feet height and rustled   
its golden-brown feathers. Two more Avians just like him landed nearby and looked to him for guidance.   
Others were on the way, but Kreetsk, vassal of the Wind Dragon King, was eager to take the island. He   
reached out with his hand, the wings on his back folding behind him reflexively, and tried to fire off a   
burst of flame.  
  
Nothing.  
  
"Weapons," he hissed, drawing his own rapier as the others did the same. Four more Avians   
landed behind them. The others were shorter than he was by more than a foot. They were just Betas, not   
an Alpha like him. He led their flock.   
  
He lifted the rapier and tested its edge on his powerful beak. Satisfied, he hissed and waved the   
flock forward. The other Avians "hopped" forward, using their wings to make short jumps ahead. They   
didn't want the villagers to get a bead on them. Thanks to those damned trees, they were vulnerable.   
  
The low-level Shinzoku heard a sharp shriek preceded by several whishing sounds. He looked   
and found one of his birds hanging from a tree, entangled in a net. The bird continued to shriek.  
  
"Cut him down!" Kreetsk ordered. Two Avians flew up and prepared to cut the net off their   
comrade.  
  
There was a high-pitched whistle. One of the helping birds cried out and fell, striking the ground   
with a sharp thud, an arrow sticking out of its back. Another whistle, and the second bird fell. A third   
struck the netted Avian, silencing him.  
  
It had all happened in less than a minute.  
  
"To ground! To ground!" Kreetsk cried. The rest of his birds hit the dirt. One of them took a few   
hurried steps before diving, however, with his last step he struck one of the trip-wires…  
  
A six foot tree trunk suspended on either side by ropes swung out from the trees and struck him as   
he dove, shattering every bone in the bird's body.  
  
An arrow struck the dirt next to the Alpha's face. Had he fangs, he'd have bared them as he   
growled. "STRIKE!" he shouted.  
  
Three of his remaining Avians took to the air. Another arrow from the ground dropped one. One   
of the others pointed to the ground. Hidden behind a few bushes, a blonde elf woman was renocking her   
bow. The two Avians dove downward, landing on either side of the surprised woman.  
  
Adara cried out and reached for the long knife on her belt. One of the birds lashed out, striking her   
with the pommel of his sword. The elf fell on her back. The Avians took another step towards her.  
  
"Hey, chicken," they heard someone call out casually from behind them. They turned just in time   
for Zelgadis to slash into one and Naga bury her rapier into the chest of the other. They birds gave soft   
shrieks and fell.   
  
"What do you think?" Naga asked with a grin, kicking one of the dead birds. "Original recipe or   
extra crispy?"  
  
Zelgadis rolled his eyes and turned back to the approaching force of Avians. More were landing   
in the distance.   
  
"That's a lot of birds, Stony," Naga commented uneasily.   
  
"Come on," Zelgadis told them. "We'll pull back behind the second ring of traps."  
  
  
  
Night was beginning to fall on the island. The sun was dipping below the horizon. The Avians   
had halted their attack with the dying of the light, not able to see well enough to fly, and a fight in the   
darkness was a fool's one. Elves with light swords, axes, knives, or bows stood an unsteady watch within   
the village.   
  
Though Zelgadis, Naga, and Adara hadn't met with too much trouble, elves watching the other   
sides of the village had met with hard-hitting attacks, and Sylphiel and Zuanna now had their hands full   
with wounded. Lying on a couch not far away from where the shrine maiden was working, Achi, still   
unconscious, slept soundly.  
  
For now, it was all quiet on the village front.   
  
Zelgadis looked out the window of the temple, watching the south approach. He grunted in   
satisfaction and turned. He saw Sylphiel not far away, sitting against a wall, her hands covered in blood   
from the wounded elves, asleep. He walked up to her and removed his tan cape, draping it over her like a   
blanket. She stirred for a moment, but continued to sleep. Knowing she wouldn't get many more chances,   
Zelgadis let her rest.  
  
"Stony,"  
  
He turned and found Naga walking up to him.   
  
"What do you think?" she asked, serious for the first time in weeks.  
  
Zelgadis took a breath. "They're Avians," he said simply. "Usually they have magical abilities,   
but without them they'll have to depend on strength and weapons. Their ability to fly gives them an   
advantage, but only when they can see. They won't move at night."  
  
"You seem to know something about them," Naga noted.  
  
Zelgadis didn't answer.   
  
"What are our chances you think?" Naga asked him.  
  
He looked over at her. "They'll be watching the roads now. Tomorrow I want you to take   
Sylphiel and whoever's left and go north to the boats."  
  
"She won't go," Naga told him.  
  
"Then you knock her over the head and drag her," he ordered her seriously. He lowered his voice   
as he noticed a few of the elves staring at him. "I mean it," he whispered to her. "I don't want her on this   
island when the sun rises tomorrow."  
  
Naga nodded. "My side-kick will do it," she assured him. "I'll have him take charge of the   
walking wounded. I'll stay behind."  
  
Zelgadis blinked. "There's no money in it, you know," he reminded her.  
  
"Like Hell there is!" she cried in response. "I have an investment here! That's *my* orihalcon   
they want! Besides, you'll need another swordswoman."  
  
He considered it. The idea of her *ordering* Xellos to do something had the potential for a bit of   
amusement. And if anyone could get Sylphiel north safely, it was Xellos.   
  
Zelgadis nodded. "Let's round up any elf that can still fight. We have a hard morning ahead of   
us."  
  
  
  
"I won't go."  
  
Zelgadis growled. "Sylphiel, there's nothing more you can do. The wounded are going to need   
you with them on the road, not here."  
  
"I don't care," she said quietly. She was exhausted. It had been too long since she had used any   
of her healing skills that didn't involve magic. She had forgotten how hard it could be.   
  
Xellos seemed to notice the exchange and walked up behind Sylphiel unnoticed.  
  
"There isn't time to explain it to you," Zelgadis told her. "The sun will be up soon, and then   
they're going to attack. We can't hold them back, but we can slow them down. We'll be right behind   
you."  
  
"Zelgadis dear," Sylphiel began, "I told you, I'm not going to leave your side. I'm not going to   
lose anyone this time. And if I do, I want to be with you." Her expression turned cross. "And there isn't   
a single thing you can do about it!"  
  
Xellos hefted his staff and struck the shrine maiden in the back of the head with it. Sylphiel   
collapsed at Zelgadis' feet, unconscious.   
  
The former chimera snarled and took a step toward the priest, who held a hand up. "Now,   
now…You wanted her out of the fighting," the Mazoku reminded him. "She'll have a headache when she   
wakes up, but not much more."  
  
Zelgadis paused, then finally nodded. "Get going," he told Xellos. He turned to go.  
  
"Mister Zelgadis."  
  
The man turned back. Xellos then did something that surprised him. He bowed to Zelgadis.  
  
"What was that for?"  
  
Xellos smiled. "If nothing else, Mazoku respect strength….Not stupidity, really, but strength."   
Zelgadis said nothing. "You can't win," the priest told him, his voice deadly serious.  
  
"No," Zelgadis whispered. "But I can help them get even." He turned and walked out the door.  
  
Xellos sighed. "Yareyare…"  
  
  
  
Kreetsk saw the sun beginning to rise, the fog covering the village would soon burn away.   
  
The day was theirs.  
  
Without a sound, he took to the air. Avians, hidden in the foliage all around him, followed suit. It   
only took one or two flaps of their wings to get them far enough. This time, they'd try the shock method.   
They landed in the center of the village, right next to a giant wheel, their weapons out and ready.  
  
Nothing.  
  
"I see nothing," one of the Betas whispered. Other Avians were landing at other parts of the   
village.   
  
Kreetsk heard a creaking sound and turned to see the giant wheel turning. Looking farther, he   
could see a series of ropes and pullies connected to it come to life.  
  
"TO SKY!" he shouted.  
  
Before any of them could react, a slack rope buried just beneath the dirt snapped taut, whipping out   
at them and taking the birds off their feet. As if it were a signal, elves appeared on the roofs of houses   
with bows and began shooting.  
  
They only managed to get off one or two shots before more Betas landed on those roofs and struck   
them down, but it bought enough time for more elves, these armed with axes, picks, and knives to emerge   
from their hiding places and attack.  
  
Kreetsk saw three howling elves leap on the back of one of his Betas and begin hacking at the bird.   
More elves appeared. One of them holding a short sword decided to make the Alpha his target. Kreetsk   
parried a hasty thrust with his rapier before running the blade through the man's neck. Another two   
approached and were easily killed. Finally, the real battle had begun. Even so…shouldn't there be more   
elves here?  
  
Some of his Betas had taken to the sky and were diving on the elf "warriors." Kreetsk saw one   
man dressed in white dive forward, just barely avoiding a diving Avian's slash. He rolled to his feet and   
slashed, taking another bird's wing off. Kreetsk blinked his yellow eyes. He knew that man…  
  
Another face from another battle leapt to mind; a face of stone.  
  
Kreetsk growled and started forward. "The Red Priest's general," he hissed to himself, raising his   
rapier. He began stalking forward, right towards Zelgadis.  
  
  
  
Sylphiel came to to the sound of the ocean. "Wha…What's going on? Zelgadis dear?!" She shot   
to her feet and moaned as the pounding in her head punished her for it. She looked around and found   
herself at the same pier as before. Elves were cramming themselves into fishing boats. What had   
happened?  
  
She found Xellos nearby, standing next to Adara. She rushed up to them. "What's going on!?" she   
cried at them. "Where's Zelgadis dear?!"  
  
Xellos said nothing, a sure sign that something was wrong.  
  
"WHERE IS HE?!"  
  
"He hasn't come yet," Adara said softly. She was busy searching the ocean with a short   
telescope.   
  
"I'm going back," Sylphiel stated firmly. She started down the pier and for shore. Before she   
could make it ten steps, Adara cried out.  
  
"I see something! A ship!"  
  
"Oh goody!" Xellos said. "More bad news…"  
  
"It's really weird," Adara commented. "It looks like a little, red dwarf, giving me the finger…"  
  
Sylphiel rushed forward and grabbed the telescope from the elf. She looked through it and saw the   
ship Adara was talking about. It looked like a clipper. There was a picture on the sail…  
  
Lina Inverse, grinning and giving the victory sign.  
  
"It's from Inverse!" Sylphiel cried. "They must have sent a ship after us!"  
  
Alongside that clipper were two other Inverse ships.   
  
"That's a good thing, right?" Adara asked.  
  
"It means we're saved," Sylphiel told her. "We'll have no problem getting these people off   
now." She handed the telescope back to Adara and ran down the pier.  
  
"Hey! Where are you going!?" Adara cried after her.  
  
"I have to find Zelgadis dear!" the human shouted back over her shoulder.  
  
Adara growled. "Oh no you don't! This time you're getting a chaperone!" She tossed the   
telescope to Xellos and ran after her.  
  
  
  
Zelgadis turned just in time for something to strike him in the stomach. He doubled over and   
gasped before having that same something grab him by the neck and lift him off the ground. Zelgadis   
looked up and saw a yellow, Avian eye narrow at him.  
  
"Nice to see you again, chimera," Kreetsk hissed at him.  
  
Zelgadis felt his blood run cold, but didn't let on the fear he felt. "Nice to see you again too,   
Kreetsk," he gasped out. The Avian responded by ramming his knee into the human's stomach and   
throwing him by the neck through the wall of a nearby house.   
  
Somehow, Zelgadis had made it without breaking any bones. He groaned and leaned on his sword,   
using it as a crutch to get to his feet. He looked through the hole in the wall and saw Kreetsk walking   
towards him, holding his rapier casually in his right hand.   
  
Zelgadis weakly raised his sword and braced himself. To say that Kreetsk was an intimidating   
opponent was an understatement. Zelgadis had been wary of facing him last time they had met while he   
still worked for Rezo, and then he had all the strength, magic, and speed necessary to beat him thanks to   
his chimera body.  
  
Now, things were a little different…  
  
"WHITE SERPENT STRIKE!" He heard to the right and saw Naga dive at the bird. Kreetsk just   
folded his wing forward and used it to bat the sorceress away. Naga screamed and went flying.  
  
So much for reinforcements…  
  
Kreetsk stepped into the house and eyed his prey. Zelgadis didn't wait. He lunged forward and   
slashed at the Avian. Kreetsk swung his rapier and actually knocked the sword out of Zelgadis' hands! It   
flew out and embedded itself in another wall. The Alpha followed up by backhanding the human with his   
left fist, sending Zelgadis flying into the back wall. He slid to the floor, blood trickling down his nose.  
  
Zelgadis assessed his options.  
  
None.  
  
He grimaced and tried to rise, but ended up falling down again. Kreetsk looked down at him. The   
human knew that if he were physically capable of it, the Avian would be grinning from ear to ear.   
  
(If I had my magic, I'd wipe that beak right off his…) He paused. An idea came to him. He   
closed his eyes and pointed his hands at the bird.   
  
"Source of all souls which dwell in eternal and infinite…"  
  
Kreetsk stopped, his eyes narrowing.  
  
"Everlasting flame of blue…" (Time to see how well briefed he is,) he thought as he chanted.  
  
The Avian stood there, waiting.  
  
"Let the power hidden in my soul be called forth from the infinite…RA TILT!"  
  
Nothing.  
  
Kreetsk sighed. "Do you take me for a complete idiot?" he asked the human. Without waiting for   
an answer, he lashed out with his taloned foot and kicked Zelgadis in the stomach. Zelgadis gasped in   
pain again.  
  
(So much for a bluff…) he thought.  
  
He gasped again from another kick. Suddenly, there was a crash. Zelgadis looked up and saw a   
broken piece of board hit the ground next to him. Kreetsk looked behind him. Something had tickled the   
back of his head.  
  
Sylphiel stood there, a broken piece of wood in her hands. She looked at the shattered board, then   
up at the irritated Kreetsk. "Uh…oh…" she whimpered.  
  
The Avian almost casually backhanded the woman. Sylphiel went flying out of the house through   
the hole Zelgadis had originally made.  
  
"SYLPHIEL!"   
  
The shrine maiden hit the ground not far away and rolled to a stop, severely dazed. Kreetsk started   
out of the hole in the wall after her.   
  
Zelgadis snarled and pulled his knife from its sheathe on his boot. He lunged at the bird, but   
Kreetsk heard him and whirled around, snatching the man's wrist and lifting Zelgadis into the air. He   
squeezed. Zelgadis heard the bones in his wrist cracking, but grit his teeth and refused to make a sound.  
  
The Alpha leaned forward until his beak as grazing the human's cheek. "Baaaaad chimera," he   
hissed, then quickly head butted him before whirling around and throwing Zelgadis to the ground next to   
Sylphiel.  
  
"Chimera, when I'm done killing you….probably sometime next week…" Kreetsk noted casually.   
"I'm going to pull your spine from your body and put it up on display in my home nest…"  
  
Zelgadis tensed and prepared himself for one last suicide attack. Before he could act, however,   
there was a high-pitched whistle from behind the bird. Kreetsk tensed suddenly and looked down at his   
chest. A shiny, metal arrowhead was peeking out at them through his gold-brown plumage.   
  
Kreetsk was amazed. He turned and saw a blonde elf woman aiming her bow at him. Another   
whistle, and another arrow was buried in his chest. He turned to look at Zelgadis.  
  
"Not like this?" he seemed to say. Another whistle, and another arrow poked out of his body.   
The Alpha fell to the ground and lay still.   
  
Adara lowered her bow and took stock of the situation. "It sounded like a duck," she said with a   
smile.  
  
  
  
Naga pushed out with all her might, and the door that had landed on her fell to one side. She stood   
up and dusted herself off. That overgrown chicken thing had launched her pretty far, causing her to land in   
a nearby outhouse…  
  
But Naga wasn't bitter…oh no…  
  
She drew her rapier.  
  
"EXTRA CRISPY IT IS!!!" she screamed.  
  
She saw Adara trying to help Zelgadis and Sylphiel along and ran up to them. "You guys okay?"   
she asked.  
  
"Help me, Miss Naga," Adara begged. "We have to get them both to the ships."  
  
Naga looked around at the village. Parts of it were on fire, and the Avians were regrouping for   
another charge.  
  
Zarak Tor was, as they had expected, lost.  
  
"Okay, give me one," she ordered, pulling Sylphiel's arm around her and supporting the shrine   
maiden.   
  
"Sylphiel?" Zelgadis murmured, still in a daze.  
  
"Try not to speak, darling Zelgadis," Adara whispered to him.   
  
Zelgadis tried to focus his eyes, but found it very difficult. What had happened to him? He felt   
like he was hit by one of Lina's DragonSlaves…  
  
He looked up and saw the burning village around him. "Sylphiel?" he asked again.  
  
"She's safe," Adara told him after a long pause. "We mustn't remain here."  
  
As they hobbled away, Zelgadis looked to his left and saw a gravemarker. The marker they had   
given the elf he killed during his trial, the one passing himself off as Elmo the Destroyer.  
  
("They'll kill us all….")  
  
The assassin's words came back to him, taunting him. Zelgadis tried to put it aside and   
concentrated on walking.  
  
  
  
He started to come to again to find Naga kneeling over him. She was waving her hand over his   
head as she chanted a healing spell.  
  
"Mister Zelgadis? Are you all right?" a familiar voice asked him. He blinked his eyes, trying to   
get them to adjust to the darkness around them. Where did he know that voice from? Inverse. It was the   
mayor of Inverse…  
  
He felt the earth move under him, yet it didn't feel like an aftershock.  
  
"How is he?" he heard Sylphiel ask from nearby. He heard the sound of footsteps on wood. A   
second later, an image of beauty was looking down at him.   
  
"Sylphiel?" he asked. He was getting stronger. He could feel it. He felt…powerful…  
  
She reached out and caressed his face, her own expression one of worry. "I was so frightened   
when you passed out," she told him, quietly.   
  
It was then that he noticed her scar was gone. He reached up and touched her face…  
  
With a stone hand.  
  
He stared at it and realized where he was. He was on a ship. He was off the island…  
  
Sylphiel saw his change in expression and reached out, caressing his cheek with her fingers.   
"We'll go back," she promised him. "As soon as we figure out a way."  
  
Zelgadis clenched his mouth shut and rose to his feet. He looked back at the island. Night had   
fallen, but the smoke and fire of the burning village could still be seen. He saw Adara nearby, holding   
onto Atlin as they watched the smoke rise.  
  
"My Gods," Adara whispered. "It's as if the whole world's gone insane."  
  
The chimera took a breath and turned, looking upward. He saw the image of Lina on the sail. He   
was on an Inversian ship, but where had it come from? Other ships, Inversian and elven floated nearby.   
  
Xellos suddenly appeared next to him. "This is the work of creatures of light," he said quietly.  
  
"Shut up, Xellos," Zelgadis muttered, turning away.   
  
"What do we do now?" the Mayor of Inverse asked. "I mean, when the crew of your ship washed   
up on shore, we came as quickly as we could. We weren't counting on a mass exodus."  
  
Naga leaned against the mast and observed as the conversation continued. She heard a squawk and   
turned to see a large albatross land on the guard rail nearby.   
  
"We can't leave," Zelgadis told him seriously.   
  
"Agreed!" Adara cried, wiping a tear from her eye. "We won't leave our home to be used as   
some weapon for the Great Dragon!"  
  
"I'm sorry, Miss Adara, I really am," the Mayor told her. "But we're a rescue party, not an   
army."  
  
"And an army is what it would take to punt those birds off the island," Naga noted. Nearby, the   
albatross squawked again. "You shut up!" she ordered it.  
  
"Make me."  
  
Naga blinked in surprise. The albatross hopped down to the deck and began to reform itself,   
changing its shape. Naga jumped back. Xellos pushed to the front of the crowd and held his staff up in a   
defensive posture.  
  
The albatross began to take a human shape. The feathers retreated beneath its skin to be replaced   
by the white cloth of a leisure suit. In less than a minute, a man stood before them. He wore all white   
from his shoes to his trousers to his shirt and jacket to the fedora on his head. A patch covered his left   
eye, and a bushy moustache covered his lip. He held a cane with a handle in the shape of a dragon with its   
wings outstretched. He knocked this staff on the wooden deck twice.  
  
"I was wondering if you had the clout to show up yourself," Xellos remarked.   
  
"You'll wish I hadn't, Mazoku," the man remarked. He turned and walked to the railing.   
"Magnificent, isn't it?" he asked, gesturing to the island. "Who would've thought those flakes could   
create something so threatening?"  
  
"You're him, aren't you?" Adara asked, her voice quaking. "You're the Great Dragon…"  
  
The Wind Dragon King smiled. "Ah. One of the aforementioned flakes…" He turned and looked   
at the flotilla of ships, laden with elf refugees. "Lots of flakes…"  
  
"If you've come to gloat, don't bother," Zelgadis told him. "You have the island. You've got   
what you want. Take it and get the hell off this ship."  
  
The Wind Dragon King smiled and knocked his cane against the deck again. "By Cepheid, I like   
you! You get directly to the heart of matters, don't you? Let me be direct with you, then. You see those   
ships?" he asked, pointing at the flotilla. "You know what's in them?"  
  
"Elves," Sylphiel told him.  
  
"Soldiers," the Wind Dragon spat. "*THAT* is the true weapon of Zarak Tor! Trees?! They   
were only part of it. The real threat is what those trees create."  
  
"Soldiers *you* can't kill," Xellos told him directly.  
  
"Very good, Mazoku. And may I thank you? You've made my job so much easier by putting them   
all in rickety boats. Saves me the trouble of having the Avians slaughter them by hand."  
  
He reached out and pointed at one of the elven ships. A flash of lightning leapt from his finger and   
struck the ship, which promptly exploded.  
  
"STOP IT!" Adara screamed.   
  
The moustached man ignored her. He pointed at another ship and fired again. Xellos disappeared   
and reappeared directly in front of the ship, absorbing the blast with his staff. He vanished again and   
reappeared where he had started.  
  
"You dropped this," he commented and pointed his staff at the dragon. A ball of light flew from   
the staff and struck the Shinzoku dead on, enveloping the Wind Dragon King in smoke.  
  
The smoke cleared. The man was unscathed. "Still the Eternal Pain in the Ass, I see," he   
commented. He raised a hand. A bolt of energy flew from his palm and struck Xellos square in the chest,   
knocking him back against the mast.  
  
The Mazoku blinked and shook his head. A patch of burned cloth marred his chest. He looked up   
and found the Shinzoku pointing a hand down at him. Xellos just shook his head. "A dragon does   
this…and *I'm* the monster…"  
  
"It's all for a good cause, Xellos," the man pointed out. His finger began to glow.  
  
He cried out suddenly as a bolt of blue struck his hand from the side, freezing his entire arm. The   
Wind God, held his arm painfully and growled, looking for the source of the ice spell.  
  
Naga, another Freeze Arrow nocked and ready, frowned at him. "No one pushes around Naga the   
White Serpent's priest side-kick *except* Naga the White Serpent."  
  
The Wind Dragon King clenched his fist, and the ice around his arm disintegrated. "This doesn't   
concern you, human."  
  
"Oh, I think it does," Naga told him. Behind her, Zelgadis and Sylphiel braced themselves and   
prepared spells of their own. "Good side-kicks are so hard to find."  
  
The Wind Dragon smiled. "So they are…" He raised his cane, and suddenly a wall of air   
smashed into the three mortals, blowing them back against the main cabin. He turned as Xellos suddenly   
vanished and appeared behind him. The Shinzoku vanished just as a beam of fire would have swept over   
him.  
  
Xellos growled and braced for a counterattack. He wasn't disappointed. The dragon appeared   
behind him and lashed out with his cane. The head struck Xellos' chest. There was a flash of light, and   
the Mazoku was thrown back again.  
  
Adara, Atlin, and the Mayor were huddled in the corner, two of them watching magic being used in   
battle for the first time and not liking it one bit.   
  
The Mazoku landed near Sylphiel, who quickly bent over him to check his injuries. Rather than   
finish the trickster priest off, the Wind Dragon was forced to deal with Zelgadis and Naga.  
  
The chimera threw himself to the left and rolled to his feet. "RA TILT!"  
  
A bright blue light engulfed the Wind Dragon King, but did little more than that. The man in the hat   
lashed out with an attack of his own, tossing Zelgadis back.  
  
"VU VRAIMER AQUA SPECIAL!!!"   
  
The water near the ship coalesced into a human shape eighty feet tall and rose above the clipper,   
roaring. Sylphiel watched as Naga's water golem lashed out with its fists at the dragon, only to be   
deflected by a shield of wind.  
  
"It…would appear…that I have overextended myself," she heard Xellos comment.   
  
"Are you all right?" she asked the priest.  
  
"A little…weakened…" Xellos told her honestly. "After all…He's a full Shinzoku. He is to me   
what I am to Lina."  
  
"Zelgadis dear and Miss Naga will stop him," Sylphiel assured him.  
  
"I'm afraid that might not be possible. And if it isn't…" He looked up at Sylphiel. "My dear   
Sylphiel, do you trust me?"  
  
Sylphiel bit her lip and nodded slowly.   
  
"No matter what happens he can't have those trees," Xellos told her.   
  
"He would say the same about you," she pointed out.  
  
Xellos smiled weakly. "True," he conceded. "But I would be just as satisfied if I didn't have to   
deal with them anymore."  
  
Sylphiel took a breath. "What do you want me to do?"  
  
The trickster priest, the Mazoku, looked into her eyes. "You have to destroy them." She didn't   
answer. "It's the only way."  
  
"But…Zelgadis dear…"  
  
"If you don't destroy that island, your Zelgadis dear is going to end up in the next world along with   
the elves."  
  
Sylphiel looked up and saw the fighting still going on. The Wind Dragon King fired off a blast of   
air, like that in a Bomb De Wind, and the water golem evaporated before their eyes.   
  
("You led them here!") she heard the elf's voice in her mind.   
  
She stood up and turned towards the island. She set her jaw and raised her hands to the air.   
  
"Darkness beyond twilight…"  
  
  
  
"FEHLZAREID!"  
  
Zelgadis watched the blue beam of light spiraled out and slammed into the Shinzoku, who only   
grunted and turned his attention to the chimera. He reached out and fired off a blast of lightning. Zelgadis   
jumped to the right, narrowly avoiding the attack.  
  
"DEMONA CRYSTAL!"  
  
The Wind God suddenly found himself trapped up to his knees in ice crystals. He snorted   
derisively and vanished.  
  
"Huh?!" Naga gasped in disbelief. She felt something move behind her and turned just in time to   
see the god's cane whip out and strike her in the chest! The blow knocked the sorceress off her feet, but   
her ample breasts caused the cane to bounce back with a *boing!* and strike the Wind Dragon King right   
in the face!  
  
*THWACK!*  
  
Zelgadis sweatdropped and sighed. "Of course…"  
  
Naga looked up and growled. "Bastard…VICE FREEZE!"  
  
The ice spell flew into the air and into the Wind Dragon's face. He covered his face with his   
hands and stumbled back.  
  
"STONY!" Naga yelled as she rolled away.  
  
"GOZ V'ROW!" Zelgadis screamed, slamming his hand to the ship's wooden deck.  
  
A pitch-black shadow ran up the deck, destroying planks and timbers, and struck the dazed   
Shinzoku. The Wind Dragon King cried out and fell to one knee.  
  
Naga and Zelgadis braced themselves for another attack. That's when they noticed it.  
  
"By the power you and I possess!" Sylphiel chanted.   
  
"Sylphiel!" Zelgadis cried.  
  
"DRAGON SLAAAAVE!!"   
  
A ball of flame erupted from the shrine maiden's hands, pausing before her to gather strength   
before flinging itself towards the mountain. The hell fire flew true, right on course…  
  
And suddenly vanished just before it would have crossed the shore onto the island.  
  
Sylphiel gasped in shock.  
  
Behind her, someone laughed. She turned and found the Wind Dragon King smiling at her. "Now   
you know how I felt." He took a step towards her. "Those damn trees can be so annoying, can't they?"  
  
Xellos interposed himself between the two and raised his staff.   
  
"Back for more?" the Wind Dragon asked. He raised his hand and formed a ball of lightning.   
Xellos braced himself and smiled.  
  
"Mister Xellos!" Sylphiel cried.  
  
The Wind Dragon King fired!  
  
At the last second, Xellos reached to his right and grabbed Adara by the scruff of the neck, pulling   
her in front of him, using her as a shield. The elf screamed in terror as the ball of lightning struck her dead   
on.  
  
"ADARA!" Atlin screamed.  
  
The light dissipated a moment later. Adara stood there, her eyes wide and panting in panic, but   
unharmed. The Wind Dragon King blinked his one eye.   
  
Xellos smiled and pointed his cane over Adara's shoulder. He fired off a dark energy blast and   
watched as it struck the Shinzoku in the midsection, knocking him back. The wind god rose to his feet and   
grit his teeth, his eyes now glowing in rage.   
  
"FREEZE ARROW!"   
  
"BRAM BLAZER!" Zelgadis cried, following up on Naga's ice attack.  
  
The Wind Dragon King knocked both attacks aside and howled at the sky. A blast of wind struck   
the two magic users, knocking them to opposite sides of the ship.  
  
"Zelgadis dear!" Sylphiel ran to the chimera and knelt over him. She grit her teeth and turned to   
the god. "FLARE ARROW!"  
  
Her target snorted as the flame dart bounced harmlessly off a shield of wind. Before he could   
react, however, Xellos was on him again, blasting at the god while ducking behind the screaming Adara   
for cover, trusting her body to absorb the magic blasts.  
  
Sylphiel turned her attention back to Zelgadis, kneeling over him and preparing a healing spell. As   
she worked, tears ran down her face. "It's my fault, Zelgadis dear. It's my fault," she kept whispering.   
"He was right. I led them here. I led them here, and now they're all going to die because of me. Zelgadis   
dear, I can't stop it. I can't stop it…"  
  
"Sylphiel," Zelgadis whispered.  
  
She looked down at him, amazed that he was still conscious. The chimera looked up at her, his   
face a mask. He seemed to pause, as if he was about to say or do something he wished he didn't have to.   
Finally, he took a breath and spoke.  
  
"Kick the table."  
  
"Wha…"  
  
Before she could get her question out, she heard a cry of pain behind her. She turned and found   
Xellos lying on his back, his shoulder impaled and pinned to the ground by the Wind Dragon's cane.   
  
("Kick the table…")  
  
Sylphiel rose to her feet and turned to the island. "Darkness beyond twilight…"  
  
The Wind Dragon King heard her and turned. "And what are you doing over there?"  
  
"Crimson beyond the blood that flows…"  
  
The Shinzoku laughed. "Are you still trying?"  
  
"Buried in the flow of time…"  
  
He took a step towards her, but Xellos lashed out with his hand and snagged his ankle, channeling   
a blast of Mazoku energy through it. The Wind Dragon cried out and turned back to Xellos, channeling a   
bolt of lightning through his cane and into the wounded Mazoku.  
  
"In thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness…"  
  
Naga finally came around, saw what was happening, and grabbed Adara, Atlin, and the mayor.   
"Hold onto something!" she cried.  
  
"Let all the fools who stand in our way be destroyed…" Sylphiel chanted quickly, aware that time   
was running out. "By the power you and I possess!" She paused for a second and looked down.  
  
Zelgadis was looking up at her sadly. He nodded once.  
  
"I'm sorry," she whispered to him. He said nothing. She turned back to the island.  
  
"It won't work!" the Wind Dragon laughed.  
  
At the last second, Sylphiel pointed her hands down at the water!  
  
"DRAGON SLAAAAAVE!!"  
  
Another ball of hellfire coalesced and shot downward at an angle towards the island. It hit the   
water and disappeared beneath the surface.  
  
Horror crossed the wind god's face. "What have you done?" he breathed.  
  
"Offhand, I'd say she fucked you," Naga smirked.  
  
Sylphiel wasn't listening. She was looking down at the water. There was a bright flash beneath   
the inky depths. Suddenly, she was pulled down by a stone hand just as a plume of water and steam shot   
into the sky. Looking up, she saw a wall of white, boiling water miles long shooting into the air.  
  
Muffled explosions could be heard. The ship lurched to one side. Sylphiel cried out in fright and   
reached out. Someone grabbed her hand. She opened her terror-filled eyes and found that it was   
Zelgadis, holding onto the rail with one hand and her with the other.   
  
It started to rain, hot water rushing over all of them.   
  
"Sweet Lina's tit! Look at it!" she heard the Mayor cry out. Sylphiel looked towards the island…  
  
And saw it *sinking* slowly beneath the surface of the water, the shelf upon which the island sat   
disintegrated by her Dragon Slave. In her life she had never seen anything like it. The entire island was   
disappearing. She saw Avians flying into the sky, escaping the catastrophe.   
  
"TIDAL WAVE!"  
  
The ship lurched again as the Inversian sailors did their best to bring the ship over the wave before   
it could crash on top of them. Sylphiel screamed and clutched at Zelgadis, who held her as tightly as he   
could without hurting her.  
  
The nightmare seemed to go on for hours, but in reality only minutes passed. She continued to   
cling to the chimera even after the rain finally stopped and ship became calm again. Her eyes were   
clenched shut. She just wanted it to be over.  
  
Finally, she opened her eyes again. The ship was a mess. Flotsam and jetsam lay about,   
waterlogged planks, sails, and rope. She found Naga, Adara, Atlin, and the Mayor huddled in a corner,   
having tied themselves to one of the rails. Zelgadis was next to her, rising to his feet. She did the same   
and looked out at the ocean.  
  
Zarak Tor was gone.  
  
"Do you have any idea what you've done?"   
  
She turned and found the Wind Dragon King standing in the middle of the deck, his fists clenched.   
  
Xellos, standing nonchalantly not too far away, smiled. "I think Naga put it best earlier."  
  
The Shinzoku glared hatefully at him. "I can still make you pay for it," he growled, raising his   
hand.  
  
"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," Xellos told him, waving a finger at him.  
  
"I expected better from a vassal of Metallium than idle threats," the Wind Dragon spat.  
  
Xellos grinned. "Than I shan't disappoint you." He raised his staff in the air. The red gem at the   
head of the rod blinked three times.  
  
Sylphiel turned as she felt something appear behind her. A man in red armor and holding a sword   
made of flame was floating a few meters away from the ship. She turned and saw another creature,   
another Mazoku, appear on the other side of the ship, this one in black robes and a hood. A third appeared   
above, hovering near the crow's nest.   
  
The Wind Dragon eyed them warily. "It doesn't matter," he bit out. "You still won't survive my   
next attack."  
  
"And you won't survive ours," Xellos pointed out. "Is this how you want the ballad of the great   
Wind Dragon King to end?" he asked. "With yet *another* failure?" By this time, Zelgadis and Naga   
were readying attacks of their own.   
  
The Shinzoku glared hatefully at them. "This won't be forgotten," he growled.   
  
"Likewise," Xellos bit back.  
  
The Wind God threw an acidic look to Sylphiel and turned. Taking a step, he suddenly vanished,   
replaced by a flock of seagulls, which cawed angrily and flew off in different directions.   
  
Xellos lowered his staff and took a breath. He turned to the nearest Mazoku and bowed. "Please   
pass my thanks along to Zelas sama."  
  
The Mazoku in the red armor bowed, turned, and disappeared. The other two followed him.  
  
Adara looked out at the water where Zarak Tor had once been. "Our home," she whispered.   
"What will we do now?" Her father hugged her, trying to comfort her.  
  
"Side-kick," Naga began, walking up to Xellos. "If you had back-up waiting in the wings…Why   
did you wait so long to call them in?"  
  
"Wait?" Xellos asked, his finger going to his lip. "I called them in at the exact moment I felt the   
situation was untenable."  
  
"WE WERE GETTING OUR ASSES KICKED!" Naga screamed at him.  
  
"Hmmm…" he thought. "Perhaps you're right. After all, if I had been more prudent and called   
them in earlier, the Wind Dragon King might have been beaten. Then my fellow Mazoku and I could have   
just walked in and taken the trees for ourselves."  
  
"You planned it this way," Sylphiel breathed in amazement.  
  
Xellos smiled. "That….is a secret."  
  
"Won't your boss be mad?" Naga asked.  
  
"Oh, I'm sure she'll be somewhat irked by it all, but when you add it all up, I prevented the   
Shinzoku from getting a powerful weapon. I'll just be sure to stay out of her way for a bit, and everything   
will be fine."  
  
Sylphiel didn't hear this last part. She turned her head as she heard the sound of a door closing.   
The door to the aft cabin was clicking shut.   
  
(Zelgadis dear…)  
  
  
  
Zelgadis rested his hand on the small table in the cabin and took another pain-filled breath. He'd   
be in pain for awhile, but it would pass eventually. It was one of the advantages of being a chimera.   
Accelerated physical healing.  
  
He heard the door open and close quietly behind him.  
  
"Go away, Sylphiel," he whispered.  
  
"Zelgadis dear…please… I know…you must hate me for what I did…"  
  
He still wouldn't turn to her. "You only did what I couldn't," he spoke quietly. "And if I could   
have, I would have done the exact same thing."  
  
"I want to help," she told him.  
  
He chuckled lightly. "You can't help me," he told her. "No one can help me."  
  
"Zelgadis dear…"  
  
"I'll be okay, Sylphiel."  
  
He felt her place a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head and looked up at her emerald eyes.   
"Remember who you're talking to?" she asked. "Don't do this to yourself. Don't bottle it up. That won't   
make it hurt less, just torture you more."  
  
He didn't say anything, just stared.  
  
"Please," she whispered. "I'm here, Zelgadis dear. I'm here."  
  
Unbidden, his breath caught in his throat, a lump forming there. He fought to drive it back down as   
he had done so many times before, but this time it was simply too much for him to bear. Moisture formed   
in his eyes, and he was forced to take another breath; a breath that came in the form of a sob.  
  
Sylphiel reached out and took his head in her hands, pulling him to her as he started to cry in   
earnest. "Shhhh," she cooed, holding him to her breast and rocking him like she would a baby. "It's   
okay," she whispered.   
  
His arms, shaking from distress, anger, frustration, and despair, wrapped around the shrine   
maiden, holding onto her like a lifeline as he wept. Sylphiel continued to hold him and rock him gently,   
eyes closed as she wept for him.   
  
"Everything will be all right," she whispered to him. "I promise." She shut her eyes and held him   
closely. She had been raised from birth to be a white priestess, a healer, trained to ease the suffering of   
others, and now she seemed incapable of easing the suffering of the one closest to her. She would have   
done anything to end his suffering, to take that pain and make it her own. She could only hope that sharing   
that pain might help a little.  
  
For now, it was all she could do.  
  
  
  
The sounds of hammers and saws in action made sleep almost impossible, even as early as it was   
in the new village dubbed, "New Zarak." Sylphiel stepped out of the tent she had spent the last few hours   
in and took in the scene around her. It had been good of the Mayor of Inverse to offer the Zarak Tor   
refugees help and supplies in building their new village on the shore of the Siria Sea, near the mouth of the   
river they had taken so long ago to get there.  
  
She yawned, and her stomach rumbled, reminding her of the last time she had eaten. The shrine   
maiden started for the makeshift kitchen tent, intent on helping out with breakfast. Before she could make   
it ten steps, however, Adara had run up to her, excitement all over her face.  
  
"Miss Sylphiel! Come quickly! Achi's awake!"  
  
The priestess didn't waste any time. She followed the elf to another, larger tent, where they had   
kept the wounded. She threw the tent flap open and found the little Shinzoku sitting up on a cot, a puzzled   
expression on her face.  
  
"How do you feel?" Sylphiel asked her, approaching warily. She wasn't quite sure how the   
Shinzoku would react.  
  
Achi blinked at her. "Hi," she said. "Um…Okay, I guess…"  
  
"Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?"  
  
The girl nodded.  
  
Sylphiel asked Adara to get a bowl of porridge from the kitchen tent and turned back to Achi. "We   
were so worried."  
  
"Um…Can I ask a question?" the girl asked her.  
  
"Of course."  
  
Achi looked right into Sylphiel's eyes. "Who are you?"  
  
  
  
"So she doesn't remember anything?" Naga asked as they walked along the beach.  
  
"No," Sylphiel told her with a shake of her head. "None of it. She doesn't even remember being   
a Shinzoku. I don't understand it."  
  
Xellos chose this moment to speak. "When you and Achi fought in her mind, what you killed was   
not Achi, but a part of that mind. The only part that was vulnerable."  
  
"Will she recover?" Sylpiel asked him.  
  
"Perhaps," the Mazoku told her. "Perhaps she'll remain as she is; a little girl with nothing more   
pressing to worry about than a cute, mortal boy who's stuck her hair in a bottle of ink."  
  
"Perhaps…that would be better," Sylphiel commented.  
  
"So what will you all do now?" Adara asked.  
  
"I suppose…We'll go back to Bes and meet Lina and the others," Zelgadis replied.  
  
"Miss Naga," Sylphiel spoke up, "Why don't you come with us?" Naga blinked in surprise. "I'm   
sure Miss Lina would be thrilled to see you again! You could join us!"  
  
Naga looked down at the ground. "As what?" she whispered. "Lina's sidekick again?" Sylphiel   
blinked in startlement. "No, Sylphiel. Somewhere out there is a legend waiting for Naga the Serpent to   
fulfill it!" She raised her fist in the air. "OOOOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!" She turned to Xellos. "What do   
you say, Priest Side-Kick of Questionable Worth? We're not bad as a team."  
  
Xellos scratched his head. "Er…I'm not sure…"  
  
"You said yourself you wanted to lay low for awhile, Mister Xellos," Sylphiel pointed out with a   
smile.   
  
Naga wrapped an arm around the priests' shoulders. "Come on, side-kick! It'll be fun!"  
  
Xellos sighed, then smiled. "Well…lacking anything better to do…"  
  
"That's the spirit! OOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!" She started to drag Xellos off. "Now,   
then, the way I figure it, you should be entitled to about ten percent of any treasure we find, you being the   
side-kick and all…"  
  
"Does that include the orihalcon you snuck off the island?"  
  
Naga paused. "Don't get mouthy. You're just the side-kick…"  
  
Zelgadis smiled tightly. "About time he found someone to be annoying to *him* for a change."  
  
"What about you, Adara?" Sylphiel asked.  
  
"I'll stay and help build our new village," the elf told them. "They'll need good archers."  
  
"The Mayor has given your people his promise of protection," Zelgadis told her. "You should be   
able to live here in peace."  
  
They continued to walk, entering the village common. "Peace," Adara whispered. "Will we be   
able to know that without the safety of our island?"  
  
"The island was just a place," Zelgadis told her. "It's the people that make a place a home." He   
nodded up at a nearby hill.   
  
Sylphiel and Adara followed his gaze. A man in a black hood, holding the reins of a horse stood   
there.   
  
"Isn't that…" Sylphiel began.  
  
They watched as the man walked down to the village and up to an older, female elf. He pulled   
back his hood, revealing a head of blonde hair and long, pointed ears. The woman cried out in joy and   
hugged the elf assassin, who embraced her tightly.  
  
"Their mother," Sylphiel noted.   
  
"Perhaps you're right, darling Zelgadis," Adara told him. "We still have our people. And as long   
as there are people, life can go on."  
  
Zelgadis felt someone take his hand and looked down to find Sylphiel's fingers interlaced with his   
own. He found himself smiling.   
  
Yes, life could go on.  
  
  
  
"Good bye!" Achi cried happily as she waved.  
  
"Safe journey!" Adara added.   
  
"Do you think they'll be okay?" Sylphiel asked as she boarded the ship to Inverse. On the   
riverbank below, the elves of Zarak Tor waved to them.  
  
"Oh, they'll be fine!" Naga assured her. "Inverse is only a few hours away, and the Mayor   
promised he'd look after them."  
  
"I'm quite sure they'll make it, Miss Sylphiel," Xellos told her. "Perhaps they'll even prove to be   
the beginnings of a new, great Elf civilization on this continent."   
  
"Either that or they'll leave to rejoin the other elf nations on the other continents," Zelgadis   
commented, entering the ship.  
  
Sylphiel smiled. "Yes. Whatever destiny they have, I am sure it will be one of their own   
choosing." She looked out at the elves and waved. "Bye everyone!"  
  
"Bye, Oneechan!" Achi shouted. "Visit soon!"  
  
The shrine maiden smiled and turned to enter the ship. She stopped suddenly as she heard   
something.  
  
"CAW! CAW!"  
  
She turned her head and saw an albatross sitting on the rail, looking at her. She felt a chill run up   
her back. "Shoo!" she yelled. The bird took to the air with an angry caw and flew off. Sylphiel took a   
relieved breath and went inside.  
  
Even so, she couldn't forget the Wind Dragon King's last threat.  
  
Was this really over?  
  
  
  
"So then, and I can't believe I did this, I let the guy join the party. Sure enough, it was trouble. He   
must have used some sort of sleep spell or something, because we all woke up the next morning tied up   
and robbed!" Lina paused to take a huge draught of ale. "He even took our shoe laces!" She leaned over   
the table and took Zelgadis by the shoulders. "What kind of sick son of a bitch takes your *shoe laces*?"   
she asked, mystified.  
  
"A very disturbed individual, obviously," Zelgadis told her.  
  
"Anyyyyyway!" Lina continued. "The next morning we caught up with him, beat the snot out of   
him, and got our stuff back. We finally find the dragon's egg, and it turns out that when they say it turns   
whatever it touches into pure diamond, they *really* meant, 'sets whatever it touches on fire.'"  
  
"Ouch," Zelgadis noted.  
  
"Gourry found a new sword," Lina said, counting off on her fingers as she recounted the events of   
her journey to Krenek. "It actually protects the wielder from attack spells."  
  
"It does?" Gourry asked, looking at the sword on his belt with new respect.  
  
"For the the sixty-*seventh* time," Lina growled. "Yes."  
  
Zelgadis took a sip of tea. The party had come full circle, meeting up at the exact same inn in   
which they had first split up. It was amazing how little had actually changed.  
  
"So…" Lina began warily. "No luck, huh?"   
  
"No," Zelgadis told her simply.   
  
"I'm sorry, Zel. I was really hoping you were right."  
  
He shrugged. "As far as the trip is concerned, I'm glad I made it." He said this as Sylphiel came   
up behind him and rested her hands on his shoulders.  
  
Lina blinked in puzzlement at the sight. Zelgadis and Sylphiel both seemed different, though for the   
life of her she couldn't figure out how. "Um…" She seemed to recover a second later. "Oh, by the way!   
I know where we're going next!"  
  
"Oh? Where?" Sylphiel asked.  
  
"I found out that there's been some bitch pretending to be me out in some theme city and taking   
credit for the stuff I've been doing! Can you believe that?!" Sylphiel and Zelgadis started to sweat.   
"Well, when I find the sorry hag that's b…"  
  
"Oh, Miss Lina!" Sylphiel said, trying to change the subject. "I almost forgot! One of your oldest   
friends asked us to give you a message!"  
  
"An old friend? A message?" Lina asked.  
  
"Yes." Sylphiel and Zelgadis both cleared their throats.  
  
"OOOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!!"  
  
Lina screamed and fell out of her chair.  
  
From their right, they heard dishes crash. They looked up and found Amelia at the kitchen door,   
her face white as a sheet.   
  
"Mister Zelgadis! Miss Sylphiel!" she cried, rushing up to them. "Where is she?! Did she say   
where she was going?!"  
  
Zelgadis and Sylphiel blinked. "Well, last time we saw her, she was heading for Atlas City."  
  
"We have to go after her!" Amelia cried, running for the door. "Maybe we can catch her!"  
  
"Amelia! Where are you going?! What's going on?!" Lina yelled, rising to her feet.  
  
"It's Gracia oneechan!" Amelia cried, rushing out the door.  
  
"Gracia oneechan?" Gourry asked.  
  
"My sister! My older sister!" With that, Amelia rushed out the inn door.  
  
Zelgadis pounded his fist on the table. "I knew it! *That's* who she reminded me of!"  
  
Lina ran after the princess. "Amelia! Wait up!"  
  
"Hey, Lina! Wait for me!" Gourry cried, following after the sorceress.  
  
Zelgadis and Sylphiel watched them go and turned to one another. "What do you think?" he asked   
her.  
  
Sylphiel giggled. "I think it sounds like a wonderful adventure!"  
  
The chimera smiled and took her hand. "Then come on!" Sylphiel squeaked as Zelgadis pulled   
her out the door and after the trio.  
  
The shrine maiden laughed as she ran, holding Zelgadis' hand tighter. The moon, bright and full   
shined down on them as they started out on the next adventure, the next of many for them.   
  
"Hey, everyone! Wait for us!"  
  
  
  
The End…  
  
  
Author's Notes:  
Well, I hope you all enjoyed this story. I have to say that it was a pure joy to write. It was so much fun   
that I've been running ideas for sequels through my head, hoping to continue this storyline and take it in   
newer and even better directions. After all, will Zelgadis and Sylphiel be able to carve a future out for   
themselves? Will the Wind Dragon King return? And you just know that Naga and Xellos working as a   
team can't be a good thing. ^_^ I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who's helped me in the   
creation of this fic. Cav, ST, WillZ, Sethra, Big D, and Fish chan have all been of great help to me.   
Thanks guys.   
  
If you would like to flame me, my address is doscher009@hotmail.com  
  
Thank you for taking the time to read this fic. I do hope you enjoyed it.  
  
Davner  



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